Doors
by Rainripple
Summary: Kid moves to live with his French exchange buddy Killer and Rochdale may be a dump but some of the people who live there definitely make up for it. Chippy AU. KidLaw.
1. Prologue

In the midst of the recording I'm listening to, I hear a knock on my door and a familiar "Yo, it's me" calls out from the other side. It's been a while since I've heard him and half of me wants to scold him for ditching me for however many weeks it's been.

When I pause the tape and tell him to come in however, that thought falls away because I remind myself that I'm lucky that he ever came back at all. Not everyone would be as generous as he is.

He closes the door and I laugh as I hear him fumble about in the dark, struggling to find his way to me. "Where the hell are you?" he grumbles.

In reply, I say, "Over here."

I allow him to step around cautiously for another minute before I decide to relieve him and walk towards where he is. After being stuck in this room for a few months or so, I've just about memorised the exact layout of it so I can guess where he might be.

Just as I thought, he's on the other side of the room, in danger of colliding with the corner of the desk. I kiss him and then follow it up with a flick to the head. He complains but let's me drag him over to the bed – _no not that way you idiot –_ where I was before.

"I was listening to stuff before, wanna finish it with me?"

He accepts the invitation. It's quite comical how confused he is about what's happening in this story. What a shame that he's actually missed the most interesting part as well – if he'd come perhaps half an hour earlier, he would have been in time to hear the description of the character having to endure hours in the back of a truck with only a single bottle of water and a bizarre roll of cheese.

As all things do eventually, it comes to an end.

There's a tube of pringles by my bedside and I offer those to him. Of course he accepts – he's a greedy pig after all – but not until I take some too. And then he starts talking, giving me the motive for his absence.

"So, hm, I found this apartment and I went to check it out and it looked like a dump at first but then I thought 'but if it's a dump, I'll have more room to work with' because lets be real, I wanna redecorate our place-"

"Our place? Who said I was coming?"

"I said." He's chuckling now. Actually, he's choking on pringles now and making horrible gargling noises as he does so.

After a few thumps on the back, he sorts himself out. I get back to what we were talking about before. "That's nice of you but have you considered _how_ I'm going to get there?"

"Uhhh, well, I'll think of something. Anyway shut up and let me finish!"

I do because as obnoxious as he is at times, I can't afford to be picky about my visitors (well, barring _that_ man) and anyone's voice is preferable to the silence, the dark and my own dangerous thoughts. Of course, it's because he's very dear to me too.

He carries on, describing how he bought the place (he's bummed because he was unsuccessful at intimidating the estate agent into giving it to him for a lower price) and all the things he's done to spice it up.

"I painted your room yellow by the way."

"You do realise it doesn't matter if you painted it yellow or bogey green, I'm not going to be able to see it either way." He snickers and then I sigh, "Don't actually do that though."

As he continues to chatter excitedly, I begin to build up a picture of this place. If he's not exaggerating, he's gone a bit over the top with the size of the apartment but well, if he wants to be expensive, so be it, I'll just benefit with having more room to roam in the place which I am confined to for the majority of my time. Apart from my place, the rest of the flat has a red and black theme ( _typical_ ) and I at least hope that the furniture is as plush as he says it is.

We're both cross-legged on the bed but by the time he finished with everything he has to say, we're both lying down; my head is rested on his chest and his arm is around my waist. Naturally, we begin to doze off and that's when I relive my old life in my dreams – the time when everything was chaotic but at least somewhat more normal than it is now.


	2. Chapter 1

**AN: Occasional French throughout will have translations in [square brackets]. Also be warning you there are issues dealing with suicide and panic attacks so be aware. Enjoy**

The Parisian airport was bustling with a myriad of different people from a range of ethnicities and cultures. Their voices combined into a drone-like babble though mere background noise wasn't enough to distract people from whatever they were doing, whether that was checking they had their passports on their person or rushing to their next flight.

One of the people sitting among the orange chairs in the waiting area was Eustass Kid, a 21-year-old man from Nice.

His French mother had married an English man and it was him who had continued to look after him following the death of Kid's mother when he was 15. Perhaps his father's heritage was part of the reason why he'd eventually relented to Kid's requests to help him move over to England.

Granted, even if he hadn't given his approval, Kid likely would have just moved out by himself anyway. He'd never been one to accept things he didn't like lying down.

For this though, Kid would have preferred to have some support while he moved because he knew he'd probably mess something up on his way there if he tried by himself. His dad would help him while he was on the French side of the English Channel and when he'd crossed over, the person he'd be moving in with would handle the rest.

He called that person Killer.

Back in middle school, he had been signed up to a penfriend system that had been set up temporarily between his school and an English one. At first he hadn't thought much of the concept and presumed he would be wasting his time trying to converse with someone who would have, at the very most, rather sub-par skills in French. Needless to say, he was not disappointed when he was proved wrong.

The experience was intended to help them improve their multilingual skills and though Kid had the upper hand due to being raised in a household where French and English were spoken, he still enjoyed the experience.

'Killer' was only a nickname but after being told what his real name was, Kid decided to respect his wishes to use his preferred name instead (he knew only too well what it was like for someone to make fun of you simply because of what your parents decided to call you).

Killer had sent the first letter and as Kid had scanned it, he had started to get more and more interested in his partner. They had similar interests in mechanical things (in particular Kid had been eager to hear more about the things Killer had built) and also had common dislikes (e.g. aubergines). His handwriting was rather scribbly and hard to read at times, but from what Kid could tell, Killer had a pretty good grasp on grammar. He was satisfied with how well the schools had matched him up and had eagerly written a reply back.

The exchange of letters between the schools had been irritatingly slow, so eventually after the first couple of times, they had switched to contacting each other via social media or email. Messages had been sent, pictures had been exchanged (Kid had laughed his ass off after seeing a picture of Killer trying to eat pasta through the holes in his mask) and eventually Skype calls were arranged.

Sometimes they talked but at other times, they said very little while they worked on an individual project, only getting the other's attention from time to time to show their progress.

They ditched the letter sending system.

A few years later, an opportunity to participate in a French/English exchange came up (as in, where both of them would at some point visit the other's country and stay over at their house for a certain period of time) and after discussing with each other, they both signed up to it.

Luckily they had been paired up again, and as a result, were able to enjoy the experience more than some of their peers did. Things got a little wild as well: they got horrendously drunk once when they stole wine from Killer's basement, and when they went out on Kid's dad's quad bike, they accidentally crashed it into a lamppost.

At some point, they started wondering about future plans and it somehow escalated from "What're you gonna do after you finish school?" to "Hey why don't we move in with each other at some point?"

Several years later and that was exactly what they were doing.

000

Neither Kid nor his father however, had the power to make planes come magically on time, so that was how Kid ended up stuck at the airport for hours.

Paris was in the middle of a heat wave so it was quite warm even with air conditioning. Kid took his jacket off, put it back on, and then took it off again because he'd rather risk losing his jacket than drown in his own sweat. He stroked a hand through his red hair, keeping the sweaty strands out of his face with a bandana.

Staying stationary for so long irritated him, so he got up frequently to wander around, sometimes in search of food, and hoped that the plane would be there by the time he came back. To his dismay, that didn't happen.

Beside one glass wall was a piano. A sign to the right of it invited people to play whatever they chose to on it.

Some people were irritating because they just messed about with the piano without playing anything serious but thankfully the majority of those who approached it had the intention to use it properly.

The current pianist was playing 'I giorni' by Ludovico Einaudi. Kid remembered that this song was something Killer's mother played for them one time, so he deliberately passed by the piano on his way to the vending machine just to check the pianist out.

He stopped.

The man was just as stunning as the music he was playing and Kid couldn't help but stare. His tanned skin complimented his golden eyes and black (or was it dark blue? Kid couldn't quite tell) hair. He could just about make out the tips of some black tattoos snaking over his collarbones and sticking out under the sleeves of his short-sleeved shirt.

He glanced over at Kid briefly before concentrating back on the piece and it was only then when Kid realised he'd been holding his breath in. His eyes darted over to where the man's slender fingers were dancing over the keys, hitting every one of them with definite precision. That was what he kept his eyes on most, occasionally flicking up to glance at the man's face before looking down again.

At the end of the piece, Kid joined in with the surrounding crowd's obligatory applause but unlike them, his attention remained on the man.

The man was giving him an inquiring look now and in an attempt not to carry on seeming like a total creep, he stuttered out, "T-t-très bien monsieur."

[Very good Mr]

His compliment earned him a single blink from the pianist before a small smile pulled at the edges of his lips and he replied with a simple "Merci."

[Thank you]

000

It seemed like they were going the same way since Kid saw him in several more places such as the boarding queue, on the plane, and at the luggage retrieval area.

They also coincidentally happened to be standing next to each other in front of the airport at the entrance. Cars drove along a road a few metres ahead of them, pulling over to drop off or pick up passengers before moving along again. Behind them, a glass wall separated the two from the airport's lobby.

Kid had seen plenty of him so he'd kind of got used to his good looks, but he avoided looking at him anyway just in case he ended up staring again. They didn't say anything to each other until Kid got a call from Killer.

Unfortunately it was bad news; Killer was busy with something at work and he couldn't come to pick him up for a while (and by a while, he meant at least 2 hours).

He was tempted to complain about having to stick around in the airport for longer or (heaven forbid) spend money on a taxi when he'd barely been in the country for more than an hour or two but Kid managed to restrain himself from doing so; he understood that there wasn't anything Killer could do about unforeseen circumstances.

Kid was about to hang up when he heard a cough next to him and felt a light tap on his shoulder.

"Je peux parler avec votre ami, Monsieur?" The man asked with a noticeable English accent.

[Can I speak with your friend]

Kid was caught off guard for a brief moment at being interrupted by a fellow French speaker. Frankly, he was also quite wary of some random stranger asking to talk to his best friend. "Eh? Pourquoi?"

[Eh? Why?]

He simply shrugged. "Ton ami s'appelle Killer, non? Je crois que je le connais."

[Your friend is called Killer no? I think I know him]

Kid narrowed his eyes at him but gave up in the end after seeing that the man wasn't backing off. He passed the phone to the man.

"Killer?"

"Ah it's you Law, didn't know you were coming back today."

"Well, you see, your friend seemed to be having a dilemma so…"

Kid had a decent amount of questions in mind while he impatiently waited for Law to finish speaking with his friend. Obvious questions like 'who is this person and what has he got to do with Killer?' and not so obvious ones like 'what shampoo does he use? His hair looks really fluffy' filled his head.

Eventually Law ended the conversation and handed Kid's phone back to him.

"So?"

The man leaned against the glass wall and regarded him with a pensive expression before saying, "Avant que je commence, tu préfères parler en français ou en anglais?''

[Before we start, do you prefer to speak in French or English?]

Kid considered the question before replying, ''Je peux parler les deux, ça ne me dérange pas.''

[I can speak in both, I do not mind]

"…I suppose you're fine with English then." Law shifted his feet. "I've told Killer you can hitch a lift with me."

Kid blinked. And then he blinked again. " _What?"_

"Killer's house isn't far from mine so it's not a problem for me."

"Uh yeah but-"

Law's gaze shifted over to the right of Kid and he pointed. "My lift's arrived now. Let's go."

000

The car in question was a white Toyota, one of those ones with a unique license plate – this one had 'SNAJ' on it. Luckily for Kid, it was a decently sized one so there was no need to worry about insufficient legroom (one of the reasons Kid hated small cars).

When the car stopped, a blond man in an orange shirt and a waistcoat got out and exchanged a hug with Law. He listened while Law explained the situation and while they were doing so, Kid noticed the blond seemed to be the friendlier one out of the two, though neither of them seemed less keen than the other to get back together.

Once the luggage was loaded into the back, they were free to go. Kid made a move for the backseat but the driver insisted he sit in the front – in the 'guest seat' – and though Law didn't say much, he seemed to be encouraging the same thing by seating himself in the back.

Kid took his seat at the front then. The conversation started off quickly enough before an awkward silence could settle.

"Hey! Nice to meet you, dude. The name's Sanji," the blond said.

"Eustass Kid. Thanks for," Kid gestured, "helping me."

"Ay, no problem. Dunno if you're particularly looking forward to living in Rochdale but I'll just tell you now, don't expect anything great."

Kid shrugged. It wasn't news to him; he'd lived in that town for the week he'd spent with Killer a few years back.

"I heard you were French, is that right?" Sanji asked.

Kid hummed in confirmation.

"Ah, let's see…" Sanji paused for a brief moment while he was considering something before saying, "J'aime les… escargots?"

[I like…snails?]

"Yeah. You've eaten snails? I thought most English people didn't like them."

Sanji laughed. "Nah, not really. Ma old man just buys some really weird stuff sometimes and I tried some when he bought them."

"Ah," Kid shrugged, "ok."

"Anyway, my French is rather basic in comparison to Mr. Smarty pants over there who could probably recite the whole of the Bee Movie script in French."

"Are you really suggesting that I'm sad enough to bother memorising that kind of thing?" Law asked in a disgruntled tone.

"I am." Sanji said in a cheeky voice.

Law snorted and rolled his eyes in exasperation. "I'm not bored enough to subject myself to learning the whole script of a movie that I don't even like."

Sanji glanced up at the mirror and turned it so Law would be able to see him waggling his curly eyebrow at him before he concentrated on the road again, still smiling smugly to himself.

"So Kid, where you gonna work?"

He shrugged. "Wherever Killer is presumably."

"Great, I guess that means Franky's place then. Good for you cos you'll be able to try some of my cooking."

"You're a chef?"

"Yup." Sanji blushed slightly. "I mean I'm only in a takeaway at the moment, but one day I want to open my own restaurant.

"Ahh." Kid turned his head to ask Law, "Are you a chef too?"

"Nope. I work at the same place as he does though, so you'll see me around," he said.

Sanji smiled. "I'll point it out to you, Kid, when we go past it."

000

When they came off the motorway about an hour later, they came across a roundabout. One road led into a steep hill and the other road led further into Milnrow (a nicer part of Rochdale, according to Sanji).

Between these were three buildings. _The Shitty Restaurant_ where Sanji and Law worked was shadowed on one side by trees that were hanging precariously over a low stonewall. On the other side, the building was linked to _Bonney's Pizzeria_ by an archway and an iron gate. Beside that was _Shakky's Rip-off Bar_ which was the biggest of the three businesses there.

They drove towards the left hand side of the takeaway and up the hill. It was only a few more turns after that till Sanji drove into the cul-de-sac that Killer's house was in.

"Welcome to Rochdale, I hope you have a fun stay," Sanji said, his tone similar to that of a sarcastic flight attendant.


	3. Chapter 2

Killer lived in a detached house made from grey stone blocks and as rugged as it was, it appeared to be in relatively good shape. It was a bit on the small side for Kid's tastes though and he thought it'd have looked better with brick instead. It wasn't as bad as it could have been he supposed… then again, it was a bit drab compared to houses back at home.

He could just imagine what Killer's reaction would be if he knew what he was thinking – he'd be tutting, shaking his head and probably be chastising him too for being so finicky about his choice of house.

Killer would probably have a pretty meticulous interior. He knew his friend was someone who liked to stay organised and Kid sniggered because he knew he'd likely end up messing it all up in a matter of weeks.

They were best friends though, so he was sure Killer could put up with it.

Once his suitcase had been unloaded, Sanji and Law had left promptly leaving Kid by himself. He approached the door and knocked. And then realised that was pretty stupid because Killer probably wasn't home yet.

He knocked again just to be sure and looked around more while he waited.

Squinting at the drainpipe above him, he could just make out some weeds hanging over the edge. There was also a considerable amount of moss on the roof.

There wasn't much to note about the front garden aside from a few plants here and there and a tortoise made of sweeping brush bristles.

Once he felt sure that Killer wasn't home, he got his phone and called him.

"Yo, when're you coming back?"

"Impatient as always Kid jeez," Killer answered, sighing when he heard Kid snigger at that. "Let yourself in. There should be a key under the doormat."

 _Of course._ How the hell Kid didn't try looking under there when it was the most obvious place, he didn't know, so he just looked instead.

And found nothing.

He blinked at the spot a few times and rubbed his eyes and still nothing was there.

"Dude, you're sure about that?"

"Yes~"

"Cos there's nothing there."

There was a long pause while Killer tried to register what he said before sighing, sounding a little more irritated than before. "It's that damn neighbourhood cat thief again."

"Neighbourhood whatty what?"

"A literal cat thief, Kid. And stop laughing, it's not funny."

The idea of Killer being a victim of a _cat thief_ of all things was too amusing and Kid ended up using the wall to support himself while he tried his best to stifle his mirth.

Clearly, Killer wasn't willing to put up with this any longer because he muttered, "Just wait till I get home then you jackass," before hanging up on him.

Then it started to rain.

000

When he finally came home 30 minutes later, he found Kid hiding under a tree in his back garden looking very much like a wet cat. He was still complaining even as Killer explained about the traffic jam he'd been stuck in. Kid was soon pacified with a hot chocolate and some food.

On the ground floor, there was just the living room and the kitchen/dining room. From there, Kid had to carry his suitcase up the ridiculously steep stairs and to his bedroom at the end of the corridor.

He didn't do much aside from take some fresh clothes out and change into them so he wasn't left shivering in his sodden clothing for much longer. He left the rest of the unpacking for later when he could be bothered (or rather when he had to).

As he came into the living room, he flopped into the armchair beside the window and happened to spot a cat outside.

A cat holding what looked like a key in its mouth.

"Killer. Killer. Hey Killer."

" _What?"_

"Do you know what your cat thief looks like?"

"It's white and long haired, got blue eyes-"

He was interrupted mid-sentence as Kid scrambled to his feet and shot out of the door without closing it.

"…What's up with him?"

000

The rain was still coming down heavily but that wasn't enough to deter Kid from sprinting after the cat. It had already started making it's escape by the time Kid had opened the door enough to see it but he didn't give up.

As tall as Kid was, he was also pretty fast, fast enough to not completely lose the cat every time it turned a corner though it remained too far away for him to grab it properly.

Kid was concentrating so hard on catching the thief that it didn't quite occur to him where he had been running until he saw the cat leap up and he realised belatedly that there was a person in his way.

He crashed into them and both of them ended up in a puddle.

The cat was safe enough – it was being held up in the air by the other person's arms so it wasn't being squashed underneath Kid. As he looked up to glower at the cat, he recognised who it was.

"Eustass?"

Law was blinking at him with a slightly bemused expression on his face.

"Is that cat yours?"

"Yeah."

The cat mewled pitifully, and as it did so, the key dropped out of its mouth. Kid snatched it away before it could be taken away again.

"Hah! Don't you dare try stealing Killer's keys again you lil-"

"I understand that my cat has been acting out of order and causing disorder within the local community but could you save the lecture for when you've got off me? I'd rather not lie in this puddle for much longer."

Kid agreed. Law put his cat down before he picked himself up off the ground, wincing slightly. There were tiny splashes as the cat tottered towards the gate.

"AEIOU."

"Alright alright Bepo, I'm coming."

As soon as the gate was opened, Bepo shot through it so he was safely under the arch where it was dry (and quite a mess by the looks of it but that was beside the point).

"It seems like my cat has been thieving a lot since I went on holiday." He nodded towards Kid in an awkwardly polite gesture. "Do tell Killer that I apologise for the inconvenience."

With that, Law shut the gate behind him before going up the stairs Kid could see on the other side of the arch.

000

Kid spent the next day at work with a cold and being annoyed at himself for sniffling and sneezing all the time. He also didn't do a great deal to socialise with the other workers at the garage – he wanted to wait until he was in better shape before making an impression.

His boss, Franky, was a cool person though, and they had some pretty riveting conversations even if he was a bit overwhelming at times which made Kid wonder how he was so energetic (it was probably the cola).

To his delight, the garage made regular trips to _The Shitty Restaurant_ for their lunch and so Kid was able to get his first taste of Sanji's cooking.

At 12:30 sharp, Kid, Killer and Franky made their way down the slope beside the shop and Kid took his first step in.

A metallic counter split the front room into two and behind it was Law who was busy getting the chips out of the fryer. The back wall was a very pale mint green while the adjacent walls were white. One wall had a menu of English meals while the other had Chinese on.

A casserole dish in the heater on the left hand side of the counter caught his eye. "What's that?"

"Chicken curry. I'd say that's one of our most popular dishes," Law answered.

"You should try it Kiddo," Franky said. "That's some real good shit there."

A faint shout of "STOP CALLING MY STUFF SHIT, FRANKY" could be heard from the kitchen.

Franky yelled in reply, "SANJI, YOU KNOW I DON'T MEAN IT."

In the end, Kid did take his suggestion, half because there was so much stuff on the menu that he wasn't quite sure where to start, and half because Law noticed his indecision and offered to let him try a bit…which he did not regret because it ended up tasting like the best goddam thing he'd ever had (especially with those chips, sweet holy jesus fucking christ those chips).

Aside from Kid's chicken curry, Killer ordered some other dishes: shredded beef in chilli sauce; salt and pepper chicken strips and chips; chow mein and some more. Kid had a feeling he wouldn't be able to resist nicking something from everyone's plate just to try it out.

He made a mental note to order everything on that menu at some point or another because he liked challenges and he also liked not cooking, so that was a bonus.

Franky also tried to order more cans of coke (as if he didn't already have enough in his stash) and when Killer objected, Franky overruled him and bought them anyway.

Law left to take their order in and there was some light discussion before they heard the clang of a wok and the sound of sizzling oil.

Kid took a seat on one of the benches beside the window but just as he did, he jumped as a kid dashed past the window and into the shop, jumping so high he almost went over the counter. Instead his top half ended up flopped over the counter while his legs dangled in the air.

"MR. LAW~ I GOT MY STUFF AND-"

Law poked his head back around the corner. "Chopper, _chill._ I'll be there in a second."

A few minutes later and he came out and placed a few trays on top of the bain marie at the back before taking Chopper over to one side. Kid wasn't quite sure what they were talking about, but it was probably medical stuff if the sciencey terms they were throwing around were anything to go by.

Law took the sheets Chopper gave him, marked them and then returned them alongside some other sheets that he whipped out from underneath the table.

Kid waited till the kid had skipped out of the door and out of sight before he asked, "Who's that?"

He shrugged. "Just a kid I'm tutoring. I'm having a gap year before I start my foundation training in a hospital so-"

"Wait wait wait," Kid interrupted. " _What're_ you doing?"

"I'm training to be a surgeon you dope."

Kid blinked at him a few times before he clapped his fist on his palm. " _Oh."_

"Why do you look so impressed all of a sudden? You didn't seriously think I was gonna work in here for the rest of my life did you?" Law sighed and rolled his eyes when Kid nodded. "Right, whatever."

" _Anyway_ before I get interrupted again, he lives with his dad next door," Law continued. "He's a chemist but that's probably where Chopper gets all his enthusiasm from. Practically begged me to teach him some stuff, so of course I took the opportunity."

Kid asked, "Do you like kids, Trafalgar?"

"Hell no," Law said while looking positively disgusted, "I'm only doing this so I don't get rusty."

"What about Luffy?" Killer said.

Law heaved yet another exasperated sigh. "He's just my replacement, ok? It's for Zeff's sake."

Franky grinned at him. "Hey bro, you _really_ don't sound like you hate kids at all yeah? Got any more students that you want to tell us about?"

"No." Law glared at him. "At least Luffy's _somewhat_ more tolerable than that Bon Clay dude; all he did was dance around like a ballerina and start arguments with Sanji about what was the best way to cook a duck."

Despite Law's protests, the three of them continued to tease him and laugh.

"Hey Trafalgar, if I ever have a kid, can I just send him over to you instead of making him go to school?" Kid said in between giggles.

" _Fuck you._ "

000

Only a short while passed before Sanji had finished cooking all their food and they were able to leave. Suffice to say, Kid did succeed in pinching something from everyone's dishes and combined with the massive portion he had to himself, he was stuffed by the end of it.

Later that night, they had a party at the pub down the road to celebrate Kid joining them. That was pretty entertaining for Kid who was a big party lover himself and they had a good time drinking themselves silly.

At one point, Kid removed himself from the inside in order to have a breather before going back inside and challenging someone else to a competition of some sort.

He lay slumped over a bench until he saw someone on a motorbike park in the car park across the road. What caught his attention was their ridiculous helmet; it looked like Elmo from Sesame Street.

When they walked past him however, instead of commenting on the helmet, he pointed to the cucumber in their bag and said, "Hey dude, is that cucumber as big as your dick?" He was very obviously slurring his words and hiccupping in between. Needless to say, he probably looked a right mess.

Yes, when Eustass Kid got drunk, he also got flirty, flirty in a dirty way.

Kid couldn't quite lift his head up enough to look at their head properly and even if he did, he probably wouldn't have been able to make out the face of whoever it was behind the darkened see through plastic that was Elmo's mouth.

The person's reaction to his question was to get said cucumber out of their plastic bag and hit him in the head with it before walking away.

000

"I'm back, Sanji." Law said as he came into the kitchen through the back door. He dropped his bag onto the table so that Sanji could fish out the ingredients he needed.

"Have you got that cucumber then-" Sanji stopped midsentence as he lifted the cucumber out. "Law, what the hell happened to the cucumber?"

"…Nothing."

"Don't nothing me! It's split in half what the fuck!?"


	4. Chapter 3

"Hey Trafalgar, what the fuck is this?"

Kid retrieved a scrap of paper from his pocket and waved it around in Law's face. Earlier on that day, Kid had unwrapped his food to find a message scribbled in the corner of the paper saying ' _You better pay me back for that cucumber you shit'._

Unlike his colleagues who had laughed at the message, Kid had been puzzled. He recognised Law's handwriting and since he had no clue about why he needed to pay him back for some random cucumber that he had no relation to (well at least any he could remember, he was sure he hadn't eaten or bought any cucumbers while he was in England), he decided to pay Law another visit to find some answers.

It was evening, about 8:30 which was around when rush hour for Law stopped. Law snatched the piece of paper out of Kid's hand so that it wasn't waving in his face anymore and glanced at it before looking at Kid. "Well?"

"Don't well me! Why do I have to pay for some random cucumber?"

"I'm pretty sure the cucumber I snapped over your head last night wasn't random."

Last night?

Cucumbers, cucumbers, cucumbers…where had he seen cucumbers? Someone had had a salad but that was all pretty much lettuce and not much else. There was someone in a cucumber costume- wait, or was it something else? Then there was that motorcyclist in the Elmo helmet…

Kid looked at Law who was practically just waiting for him to work it out and start laughing. Which was exactly what he did.

"Seriously dude, that was _you_ in the Elmo helmet? Jesus fucking Christ."

"Are you going to pay me now that you remember?"

"No why should I? It wasn't me who broke the cucumber."

"Heh, fine, be that way," Law shrugged, pretending to not care. "I hope you're fine with explaining to Franky and Killer why I'm charging double on all your meals."

Kid glared at him before getting a pound coin out. "Tch fine, a pound should be enough right?"

"Uhuh." Law took the pound out of Kid's hand and put it in his jeans pocket before he smirked. "By the way, it was only 42p but thanks for the extra."

"YOU!"

Kid wanted to strangle him but Law stepped back so he was out of reach from Kid's hands and honestly Law's chuckles were annoying him so much. Then again, had he ever heard the man laugh before? It wasn't relevant to the current situation but…

"Man you're cute when you laugh."

Law's laughing stopped abruptly at that statement and his expression became one of utter bewilderment. Kid was just as shocked that he'd allowed himself to let a thought like that slip out.

"UH, I uh, meant you laugh like a girl…"

A sly smile crept up on Law's face. "I know what you meant Eustass."

Kid felt like he'd just dug his own grave and the chances of Law not teasing him about it in the future seemed slim. He supposed though that he had more to hold over Law's head, what with the Sesame Street helmet and the cucumber incident. Also his pupils, apprentices or whatever they were classed as.

The phone began to ring but before Law could take even a step towards it, someone dashed out of the kitchen and answered it.

"YO, IT'S THE SHITTY RESTAURANT, WHAT CAN I GET FOR YA?" There was a pause before he exclaimed, "ACE IT'S YOU!"

While he was babbling on the phone, Kid asked Law in a stage whisper, "Who's that?"

"This is Luffy. Y'know, that person Killer mentioned the other day," Law said.

The straw hatted teen hung up and dashed back inside to put the order down. "HEY SANJI, ONE SINGAPORE CHOW MEIN FOR EXTRA HOT ACE."

Kid collapsed in a second fit of giggles and he could tell Law was just as amused by the smirk on his face though whether it was because of what Luffy called him or Kid's reaction to that, he wasn't too sure.

"Pftt…extra hot?"

"Because of his extra hot chow mein not because he's good looking."

"TRA-GUY!"

There was a split second for Law to grab onto a table before Luffy threw himself at him and almost caused him to fall over. After a moment, he was able to right himself back to a normal standing position rather than at a shaky 45 degrees and he got Luffy to release him from the hug he'd been trapped in, awkwardly patting him on the head when he did so.

Kid wasn't helping with the situation at all; he was back to sniggering again.

"Ace's gonna pick me up tonight." Luffy grinned before noticing Kid. "Who's the tulip head?"

Law disguised his laugh with a cough. "I haven't introduced you two yet. Luffy, this is Eustass Kid, he's just moved here from France."

Luffy was starting to look at Kid with a hint of admiration and he wasn't quite sure what to think about that. "Cool~ Is he ordering anything?"

Kid and Law suddenly remembered what their previous conversation was and went back to (half-heartedly) glaring at each other.

"Hm, I'll just be going then…"

"Not staying for a portion of chips?"

"Not when you're around Trafalgar."

"Aww come on Tulip head." Luffy pouted. "You should try some of Sanji's stuff."

"I already have kid! And I have a name you know."

000

In the end Kid succumbed to Luffy's puppy eyes and bought a portion of chips to pacify him. He refused to look at Law because every time he did, all he was did was give him a gloating smirk like he'd won some sort of competition against him.

If there was a competition, Kid refused to acknowledge it. He wasn't about to start being a loser today.

000

About an hour later, Ace came into the shop for Luffy, carrying a couple of pizza boxes with him.

"Yo where's my bro?" He asked, popping his hat off to brush a hand through his black hair before replacing it.

"In the toilet Ace." Law replied. "He'll be out soon."

"Ah, ok." Ace took out his wallet. "How much?"

"£6.00. A Singapore chow mein extra hot and a large curry right?"

"Yeah." Ace passed him the exact money with an extra 50p. "Tip for you there."

"Heh, you're too nice Ace," Law said, slipping the 50p into the bear he was using as a tip box. The growing pile at the bottom of it reminded him he should probably exchange them for pound notes at some point.

He shrugged. "Nothing wrong with that."

When he heard Luffy talking in the back, he took Ace's bag from the bain marie and placed it on the counter in front of Ace. "Here," he raised an eyebrow. "Sure that's gonna be enough for your stomach?"

Ace snickered, "It will be if Luffy doesn't steal my stuff."

Luffy came out and as soon as he saw his brother, he quite literally jumped over the counter to go hug him ( _jeez_ people really needed to stop jumping over it like it was a game of leapfrog).

He skipped back inside to grab his stuff before he and Ace waved adieu to Law and walked out of sight. The shop seemed to decrease in liveliness when they left and as he waved to them, he hid his sudden melancholic mood with a wistful smile.

He often had a bad habit of being reminded of things he wanted to forget and unfortunately Luffy and his brothers didn't help with this. The trio's brotherly bonds often made him feel pangs of envy because at one point in his life, he had been a big brother too.

Granted, he couldn't have stopped any of the circumstances from happening, whether it was his sister's disease or the fire that burnt the hospital down. Despite this though, he still felt very, very bitter about it because she had had a chance to live and if it wasn't for the fire, perhaps she could have lived to adulthood as well.

The sound of the phone ringing jolted him out of his thoughts and he immediately paced towards it.

"Hey, Shitty Restaurant on Kiln Lane, what can I get for you?"

For a while, there was no response and Law was about to put the phone down when he heard a chilling chuckle that was all too familiar.

"Long time no see Law."

"…I'm afraid I can't say the same, _Doflamingo_ ," he replied with barely concealed hostility.

"How was your holiday in France?"

Law frowned. "How…?"

"Monet told me she saw you at the airport. She was one of the flight attendants."

Well that was no surprise. Made Law wonder how many more people Doflamingo had stalking him.

"Anyway, you're digressing, what're you calling me for?"

"Did you get my letter the other day?"

Ah, that thing. The pink stationary had come to his door the day Law returned from France and suffice to say, he wasn't particularly pleased to find out who it had come from. In short, he had been asking Law to come back to the family and to be honest, that wasn't something that he wanted to do.

As he watched the news over the years and seen Doflamingo's small takeaway, DFC, had grow into a huge company with stores all over the country, he had hoped that Doflamingo would leave him alone but evidently, he was wrong and to be fair, Law had been anticipating something like this for a while.

"I didn't."

"Fufu, don't push your luck kid. I know when you're lying."

"So? What of it?"

"Have you got an answer yet?"

He paused momentarily, considering his words carefully before replying, "It would be a 'no I'm not going to come back' but I have a feeling you wouldn't take that as an answer, would you?"

"Well I could but there might be… _repurcussions_ should you choose that. Someone might, fufu, lose a leg."

The hand not currently holding the phone slowly curled into a tight fist. "Don't. You. Fucking. Dare."

It was obvious of course that the person losing a leg would be someone else. Doflamingo was referring to Zeff (who bear in mind, was already missing a leg and compensating the loss with a peg leg) but Sanji was equally at risk and that particularly was something that Law _loathed._ The man was quite a big fan of blackmail and it was particularly dangerous for people like Law who disliked putting others in danger.

Now the man was guffawing, obviously pleased that he'd found a weakness. "Excellent! Can I take that as a yes then?"

"…I need to think." Law glanced behind him as he heard a customer come in. "I'll call you back when I have an answer."

He hung up. For a second, his shoulders slumped before he took a breath in and turned around to face the old lady with a fake smile. "Hey, what can I get you?"

Thankfully, all they wanted was a portion of chips so it was over and done with easily but as they made their way out, they gave him a bizarre look and asked, "Are you ok?"

Law blinked at them. "Hm? Yeah, I'm fine thanks."

"Oh ok, that's good. I was just concerned because you looked a little pale."


	5. Chapter 4

_Law played with the fingers on his little sister's hand. He interlocked his hand with hers for a few seconds before letting go to rub comforting circles into her palms instead. She was so very frail, so weak that she seemed like she'd disintegrate into mere ashes whenever she coughed._

 _Lamie was barely conscious at the moment - Law feared that she was entering the final stages of her disease and that she would perish before his parents could find a cure. In reality, it seemed unreasonable for his parents to be capable of accomplishing the act but he held onto hope because his sister really would be doomed if he gave up on her now._

 _Hoping was really all he could do. He used to help out with his parents sometimes, taking care of people in the wards but now he'd begun neglecting that. Outside of school, he spent as much time as possible with her. Apart from toilet breaks that he tried to keep to a minimum, he did everything in there: he ate, slept and did his homework right where he could keep an eye on her._

 _Law was Lamie's big brother after all and he'd be an awful one if he didn't do something to try and ease her way. He did this by keeping her company, doing something to entertain her when she was awake and making sure she was comfortable when she wasn't._

 _He tried to commit her to memory because any day, he could wake up and find her hands cold, find her lifeless and dead-_

 _Such pessimistic thoughts wouldn't help the situation._

 _He was shaken out of his thoughts by a groan. "Lamie?"_

 _She blinked her eyes open and stared at him._

 _Law smiled nervously. "Are you ok? Do you need some water?"_

 _Lamie shakily lifted a hand and beckoned him. "Come closer, I want to ask you something."_

 _He rose from his chair and stepped closer, leaning closer to her face when she asked him to and noticed that her breath smelt uncomfortably like death, like rotting bodies and smoky fires._

 _Her voice sounded ominously like a death rattle when she murmured, "What are you so afraid of brother?"_

000

Law started awake just as he felt someone shake him and he shot an uneasy look over his shoulder. Thankfully, the person shaking him awake wasn't Doflamingo or some fucked up corpse – it was Kid.

"Oh. It's just you," he muttered, relaxing once he glanced around the whole room, satisfied that it was just him.

"Could you not sound so disgusted saying that?" Kid said in an affronted tone. He lifted up a bag. "I have food."

He sat up slowly. "Not that I'm complaining but why are you here?"

Kid grinned at him. "Franky told me you had a tree house down here. I came to join you for a sleepover."

Law restrained himself from making a snarky remark about how the tree house was for him to have some privacy to himself and think, not to have parties with other people.

The tree house was in a park, someway down the road from _The Shitty Restaurant_. It was hidden within a small cluster of trees which were far away enough from the playground to have the voices of children at least significantly reduced in volume if not muted completely. The ceiling was at a height where adults could comfortably sit cross-legged but not stand up without knocking their head against it.

It was nearing the end of September so leaves were beginning to carpet the ground with shades of yellows, oranges and occasional reds. A few random ones drifted into the tree house through the windows.

After a few moments, Kid said, "Wanna come with me to Manchester on Monday?"

"Why?"

"It's Bartolomeo's b day on the 6th so I wanted to get him something."

Law shrugged. "Can't you get Killer to come with you?"

Kid looked thoughtful for a second before he said, "He's going out with someone on that day."

"Is there no one else at the garage who can go with you?"

"Do you have a problem with me asking you instead or something?"

There was a pause before he relented and said, "Fine, I'll come."

"Look, if you don't want to come, that's fine. Don't force yourself."

Law waved him off. "It's fine Eustass, I don't go out very often anyway." He sighed and glanced at the wall, probably glaring at it without meaning to.

"…Are you ok?"

He bristled. "Yes I'm fine! Jeez, why does everyone keep asking me that nowadays…"

"Huh, beats me, maybe it's cos you're so damn moody all the time."

"Maybe I'm naturally moody."

"Maybe you're not." Kid retorted.

Law narrowed his eyes and shut up for a bit. He started thinking again about the weird fucked up dream he just had – yes it wasn't a flashback or at least some of it wasn't. Law was pretty sure Lamie had never asked him anything like that and her breath had definitely never smelt like that either.

That's probably why it stuck in his head for longer than the rest of the dream that had mostly faded from his memory.

Doflamingo was at the top of that list of course and Law was starting to get anxious because he still hadn't thought of a way to get him off his trail. He had ideas but nothing foolproof as of yet and he was slowly starting to run out of time.

"Say Eustass…" Law started, "I don't know anything about your relationship with your dad but supposing your dad was constantly badgering you to come back and take over the family business even though you didn't want to, what would you do?"

Kid scoffed, "Easy. I'd tell him to fuck off."

He raised an eyebrow. "Even if he threatened to hurt your friends?"

"Well, then I'd come back and make sure he wouldn't ever be able to do that."

Law chuckled. "How so?"

"Well, I'd either beat him up really badly or just straight up kill him cos y'know, he can't do anything then." Then he stammered, "Not that I'd actually do that though cos we're actually on really good terms so-"

Law laughed again and smiled cryptically at Kid. "You're such a simpleton."

"Hey!"

"But I envy you for that."

"?"

"Nevermind, forget what I said."

He hadn't managed to get any better ideas from him but at least he got a bit of a laugh out of it.

000

Eventually, they managed to discuss some details and so, on Monday, Kid met up with Law at his flat above the chippy. The only thing was that when he got there, he was a few hours early and Law was still sort of half asleep when he answered the door.

"Eustass, it's only 7:30 in the morning…" Law said, yawning at the end of the sentence. Damn he was really sleep deprived.

"The early bird catches the worm Trafalgar!"

"The shops aren't even open yet, what worms are you expecting to get? Are you planning to stand outside until someone opens?"

Kid just grinned at him as an answer; his energetic liveliness was sort of getting on Law's nerves but maybe that was just because he hadn't woken up enough yet to deal with it properly.

"Well, you might as well come in. I'll be ready in a few moments." Law pushed off from where he was leant against the doorframe and Kid noticed him sway slightly.

"Are…are you sure you're fine? You wanna-"

Law waved him off. "I'll be fine, I just need time to wake up."

000

After grabbing a riceball and some coffee, the two of them set off to get the tram in (there _were_ quicker ways to get to Manchester but they didn't want to get there too early). Surprisingly enough, the one who started snoozing on the tram was Kid.

 _I told him he got up too early_ he thought to himself, rolling his eyes as Kid's head slumped down to lie on top of Law's shoulder.

Law himself stayed awake since he was the one who knew which stop to get off at but for the hour he was on there for, he had very little to do. He stared out of the window and contemplated for some and then played around on his phone.

When a notification came up on his screen, he squinted at the unknown number and then checked the text itself.

 _Doflamingo is watching you._

Law stiffened in his seat. He glanced around furtively, trying to see if there was anyone familiar, anyone from _his family_ but he couldn't see anyone he recognised.

 _Who is this?_ He demanded.

The next text came and it promptly ignored his question.

 _Young Master is getting impatient. You have 3 months left._

Law started going through through a mental list of all of Doflamingo's executives: Diamante, Pica, Trebol, Gladius, Jora…

Frankly he couldn't imagine any of them having the tact to send these messages in such a manner that it made Law _this_ agitated. As much as he'd like to deny it, whoever it was had made a good choice when they decided to stay anonymous; it made the threat behind the text so much more effective. He could feel himself start to break out in a cold sweat.

 _Have a nice date with your boyfriend._

Have a nice date? _Have a nice date?_ It almost made him want to laugh at the irony in that statement but he was in such a state then that he didn't even think to disapprove their assumption of who Kid was to him.

Thankfully, no more texts came after that but the effect was still there. He hadn't been this skittish for a long time and suddenly he didn't feel safe anymore. If the tram hadn't still been moving at that moment, Law probably would have got off and took a tram back in the other direction

Not that it'd mean he was any more secure but at least he could hide behind his bedroom door and pretend that would be enough to keep people away instead of being out here where literally anyone around him could be one of Doflamingo's men…

"Hey Trafalgar-"

He screamed involuntarily at the hand on his shoulder, startling Kid and the other people around them.

"What's wrong!?"

Law looked away, trying to hide his embarrassment. "N-nothing, you just startled me that's all."

"So…could you let go of my hand now?"

He only just noticed that Kid was right and wow, he must have been really out of it if he was clutching onto someone's hand that tightly without noticing. He let go and crossed his arms.

Kid looked around him. "How much longer?"

"Just three more stops I think."

Good. The sooner he got off, the better.


	6. Chapter 5

Law was able to calm himself back down and he at least appeared more or less normal by the time they disembarked off the tram.

Kid looked around him at the city buildings and his blank face was making it hard to read what his first impressions were. He was just nodded slowly like one of those car dashboard toys. Law waited for a moment before he began walking off in one direction, trusting Kid to follow him.

"So, where d'you want to go first?" Law asked. "Café? Shops? Arcade?"

"Well I think-" Kid's stomach interrupted him mid-sentence. "…Ok, probably a café then."

"Heh, did you even eat this morning?" Law smirked.

"I had a lasagne."

Law looked at him in disbelief. " _A lasagne!? For breakfast?_ "

"Uh, yeah…" He had the sense to look slightly sheepish. "Killer says it's weird."

"Pfft, I don't think he's lying Eustass."

000

After a couple of meatball paninis (Kid liked them so much that he scoffed down 3 of them before he was satisfied), they walked around some more. They went to a few shops but for the most part didn't actually buy anything. They stalled for time because it'd be pretty silly if they went back home after being there for barely an hour.

They were on their way to a sushi bar for lunch and as they passed a group of market stalls, Law stopped beside one of them. When he noticed he wasn't being followed, Kid backtracked to have a look at the hat Law was examining.

It was spherical, made of wool and with a bill on it so it looked like a skipper's hat. Black blobs lined the bottom edge of the white material like the markings from a spotted seal.

Law was staring at it rather thoughtfully.

"Do you like it?"

He shrugged. "It's just like something I used to have when I was a kid. There are some differences but it's similar enough."

Kid took it from his hands and shoved in on his head lopsidedly so Law had to adjust it. He looked at him. "Look's good on you."

"Really?"

"Wait here." Kid stalked off to talk to the stall owner despite Law's protests that he didn't really need it.

He was about to follow Kid when two people emerged from the other side of the hat stand. They recognised him at pretty much the same time as Law did.

"Law?"

Now you _could_ say that time screeched to a halt but to be perfectly honest that would be an understatement. Things just got a bit awkward.

It'd been years since he'd seen those two and they'd grown up a lot but that didn't stop him or them from recognising each other almost immediately. At first, they were blinking in confusion but after that initial reaction, without saying anything, Law took the hat off and replaced it on the hat stand before stalking away.

He was perfectly aware that by leaving him, Kid would be at risk of getting lost but he shrugged it off; he could always just ring him up once Law was successful in losing the two nuisances.

Buffalo had made no move from where he'd been stood but Baby 5 had begun to chase him. Law guessed that she'd probably try to make him come back to the family as well and he wasn't willing to put up with more nagging.

She was as persistent as always but Law found it easy enough to lose her after a few corners and once he was no longer being followed, he took a loop around back to the market stalls to get Kid back with him. It appeared that Kid had been looking for him too because he was indignant once they reunited.

"Where the hell did you disappear off to?"

Law shrugged. "Just trying to shake off someone."

Kid snickered. "Are you that popular with the girls?"

"Who told you I was getting chased by a girl?"

"Some fat ass I found at the stall."

Law groaned – that was probably Buffalo.

Kid put the hat back on Law's head. "There, that'll be my birthday present to you."

He blinked at him. "How did you know when…?"

"Killer told me. Said it was on the same day as Bart's."

Law smirked. "So _that's_ why you were so persistent in getting me out here."

"Well, y'know, I do like you too. I'm not just trying to sweeten you up."

Law laughed before beckoning him. "Come on, we were going to get sushi weren't we?"

000

"Eustass I didn't say you could spend the night in my bed," Law said, looking rather unamused at Kid who was perched on top of the duvet in the famous 'draw me like one of your French girls' pose.

"I like it."

"Eustass you said you wanted to sleep over. That means sleep on the couch or at least the floor."

"Man Trafalgar, you're such an A+ host," Kid drawled, cheekily grinning at him in a way that meant he had no intention of moving from his spot.

Law just rolled his eyes. "Fine, _I'll_ go sleep on the sofa then."

"Hey hey hey wait!" He was quickly realising his attempts to be charming were failing and were pushing Law away rather than towards him. He shuffled over and patted the bed. "Please?"

After a few moments, he shrugged and slipped into bed with him. He looked at Kid quizzically when the man dragged him closer into a hug. "Didn't know you were a cuddly person."

"Heh, well now you know."

"Are you going to do this all night?"

"Maybe, why?"

"I want to take my shirt off, I'm gonna overheat if I have to sleep that close to someone as warm as you."

Kid let go so Law could sit up and pull his shirt over his head. Black ink lines covering his shoulders and his chest with hearts were revealed and for some reason Kid found that they really suited him.

Obviously Law noticed Kid's attraction to them. "You're staring."

"C-can I touch them?" Kid stuttered. He took Law's shrug as a yes and sat up.

His fingers gingerly reached forward to trace the hearts adorning his shoulders before he focused his attention on the large one on Law's chest. The lines stretching from just above his abs to his chest had small feather like markings protruding off them and as they curled around to form the top of the heart, long flame like patterns came off the top of it to curl around his collarbones and over his shoulders.

He was shocked out of his reverie by a giggle.

"H-hey, don't touch me there, it tickles."

Law belatedly realised what he'd said and regretted it when Kid smirked at him before bowling him over and tickling him. His fingers got wherever they could; when Law tried to stop him from tickling one side of his neck, he'd go for the other side and then while he was distracted, get another hand somewhere else.

Kid wanted to tickle him forever just so he could keep listening to him laugh but of course he stopped, partly for Law's sake and partly because he was aware they were probably being rather noisy and disruptive for the other residents in the flat.

Law relaxed into the bed once the assault stopped. He panted as he tried to catch his breath and when Kid tried to nuzzle him, he tried half-heartedly shoved his face away. "Hah, hah, stop it you child."

"I'm not tickling you anymore," Kid sniggered.

They returned to the position they had been in before and soon Kid fell asleep, happy that he'd lightened Law's mood at least a little.

000

Both of them were startled awake the next morning by the sound of someone banging pots together. Law squinted as the door was slammed open and a man with an outrageously tall chefs hat came in.

"GET YER LAZY ASSES UP YA SCALLYWAGS. YOU'VE BEEN ASLEEP FOR WAY TOO LONG," he boomed, still continuing to deafen them with his pots.

"ALRIGHT OLD MAN, COULD YOU STOP BANGING THOSE POTS FIRST?" Kid shouted back. Consequently, he was whacked in the face with the hat which left him with a rather dumb-founded expression.

Satisfied that he'd woken them up, the man turned to leave but before he turned down the corridor he said, "Oh yeah, little baguette? You might want to put a shirt on first."

After he left, Kid started to guffaw. "Who the hell was _that_?"

"That's Zeff, Sanji's foster dad I suppose."

"Does he work at the chippy? I've not seen him around before."

Law shrugged. "Sometimes. He's busy doing other things most of the time." He shifted over and reached over to his bedside to check the time on his phone. He groaned, "It's already 11? Bloody hell we slept for a long time."

"We could sleep longer-"

"Do you want him to hit you in the face again?"

As Law tugged his shirt back over his head and headed down the corridor, Kid decided he quite liked Law's mussed up hair. He caught up quickly and messed it up even more, earning another unamused look from him.

The corridor was quite short and the majority of the rooms were connected to it. Law's tiny bedroom was on the end closest to the front door whereas the living room cum dining room was on the other end. There were a couple more bedrooms and a bathroom in between them. The kitchen was ensuite to the main room and had a little window overlooking the cobblestone patch of land beside the chippy's back door.

Kid took a seat beside Law on the sofa; he lit up as soon as he saw that noodles were on offer for breakfast. He eagerly slurped some down and mumbled "Man these are good! What're they cooked in?"

"Deer penis soup."

He almost choked then before Law said again, "I'm joking Eustass."

"Well I hope so, _little baguette._ "

Law's phone started ringing then and he walked back to his room to answer it in private.


	7. Chapter 6

Law waited until he was safely out of earshot before hissing, "What do you want this time?"

"How rude, not even a hello?"

"I don't have time to waste talking to you, I have a guest in the house."

Doflamingo said, "Oh? Is it your boyfriend?"

"I don't remember us doing anything which would suggest that," Law replied, getting more and more irritated at people just suddenly deciding he was in a relationship with barely any evidence to back it up. "I highly suggest you give your subordinates a dictionary and tell them look up what the definition of acquaintance or friendis."

"Scathing as always Law."

"You're making me quite concerned here; what the hell are you teaching people these days? Coaching them on the best ways to make someone have an anxiety attack?"

Doflamingo chuckled, "I apologise on their behalf Law. Anyway, friends? I thought you were beyond that?"

Law tapped his feet impatiently. "I'm hanging up now."

"Hold on, how about a meeting to settle things once and for all?" That made Law stop and it gave Doflamingo enough time to continue, "Today? At my place?"

Law clicked his tongue. "Do you really take me for a fool?" Going over there to discuss things would practically ensure that Doflamingo could get whatever he wanted regardless of whether Law wanted to or not. Even if he flat out told him he still didn't want to be associated with him, Doflamingo would probably just lock him in the house until he changed his mind.

"Where then?"

"Wheatsheaf library. _Next Monday_." If he was in a public area, he'd have a bit more freedom and at least a couple of escape routes.

"Why not today?"

"Too short of a notice." Law still needed time and he'd do whatever he needed to do to stall.

"Fufu alright then. See you next week. I think you know what the consequences will be if you don't turn up." Those last words seemed like a threat and Law knew Doflamingo would stay true to his word if he did so.

000

Law arrived at the rendez-vous point early. He parked his motorbike in a nearby carpark and hung his helmet on the handlebar. After scanning the surrounding area, he crossed the road to enter the 4 storey, red brick building housing the Wheatsheaf library.

He was joined in the elevator by a small group consisting of college students who looked just as sleep-deprived as Law did and parents accompanying their children. The number gradually decreased as he rose up floor by floor and on a whim, he decided to stop by the café.

 _Sharley's_ was a small but reasonably successful establishment that Law visited whenever he was nearby. Madame Sharley, the owner herself, usually manned the counter with a couple of assistants but today, there was just one single man there.

He looked rather thuggish with his beefy muscles and scarred face. Considering that Sharley's usual staff consisted of just women (quite pretty ones by normal peoples standards as well), he seemed like an unusual exception.

Law joined in the short queue and it wasn't long till he was at the front.

"One espresso please."

"Aye~"

He leaned on the counter and glanced at his nametag. "I assume you're a new member Bellamy."

"That's right sir." Law decided Bellamy was way too loud for his liking. "To tell ya the truth, I'm just covering for my sister so this isn't a permanent thing."

Law nodded slowly in response. He watched him rush about, preparing his drink and he at least appeared to be doing all the right things. On the counter beside him, he noticed a tray of martinis with a label beside it saying 'Free samples! Feedback is welcome'.

He pointed to it, "Is this something Sharley's trying out?"

Bellamy laughed nervously. "Actually, that's something I'm doing. I have a party tonight and I'm in charge of the drinks so I was trying these out just to see if they were popular."

He handed the espresso over in a cup but before Law paid, Bellamy said, "It'd be _really_ helpful sir if you try one."

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to decline that offer. I have something to attend to after this-"

" _Please?_ I'll give you a discount."

His persistence seemed rather suspicious to Law but in the end, he just shrugged and took a sip of the drink he was given. Thoughts about being stuck in a room with Doflamingo were making him antsy and he'd rather not have to deal with annoying people while he was like that.

He handed the unfinished cup back to him. "It's a bit sweet but it should be fine."

"Are you sure you don't want to finish it?"

"Like I said-"

"It's like Buck's Fizz sir, barely any alcohol in it." 

"It's _fine_ ," Law said one final time, putting a definite end to the conversation.

With that, Bellamy took his money and Law took his espresso to a window seat. What he didn't see though was that Bellamy immediately washed his martini cup despite the fact that he had a queue waiting and that he had several used ones on the side that he hadn't bothered washing.

As he sat, drinking his espresso, his eyes flicked around looking for possible escape routes. The stairs was an obvious option. There was also the lift and the toilets which _might_ have windows he could get out of though he wasn't particularly keen to go with either of those options.

His phone began to ring and thankfully it was Kid calling him, still apparently on 'lunch break' (more like being lazy on the job). The call kept Doflamingo off his mind for the moment at least.

"Hey Eustass, do you get a lot of people giving you weird looks?"

"Uh, not really, like some have a double take at my hair I suppose but they usually stop staring if I growl at them like this." Kid proceeded to do what appeared to be a poor impression of a lion.

Law laughed lightly. "I'm surprised, I'd probably stare at you more if you did that."

"Yeah but that's because you're an ass. You like pissing me off."

"The guy at the counter keeps giving me weird looks. What do you think he wants?"

Indeed, for the past couple of minutes, Bellamy had been switching constantly from looking at the clock to glancing at Law and smirking before realising he was being watched and looking away again.

"Maybe he's got a crush on you. You are pretty good looking afterall."

"Are you trying to compliment me there?" Law said, smirking.

Kid sniggered, "You should take the initiative and ask him out before he has to rush to the toilet and jerk himself off cos you gave him a boner."

Law snorted. "You have a crude imagination Eustass." A yawn cut off the end of the sentence.

"Heh, what're wrong? Not got enough sleep?"

He admitted, he did only have about 5 hours of sleep the previous night but usually he was more awake than this. "I'm feeling ridiculously…tired… if that's what it is…"

The lethargy was really hitting him now and it was ridiculously strong even for Law who's used to living on anything between 3-6 hours. It wasn't even that hot in there but he was starting to sweat for some reason.

"Trafalgar? Hey, are you ok?"

"I-"

Suddenly, he wanted to throw up and he dropped his phone, clapping a hand over his mouth as he rushed over to the toilets, swaying on unsteady feet like a drunk. Bellamy was _definitely_ smirking at him- no he was actually laughing as well.

The lights in the toilets was out for some unfathomable reason so he had to feel his way around to the toilet and even when he got into a cubicle, he wasn't completely sure if all his vomit even reached the toilet bowl. Law felt even more tired after that and with that, he fell to the ground and didn't get up.

000

 _Law approached the paediatric ward his patient was staying in. There were four beds in this one, each of which could be sectioned off by an orange curtain. An ensuite toilet was available and on his right as he entered, there was a desk. He grabbed the file containing his patient's details from it before he crossed over and let himself into the appropriate area._

 _He coughed to signal his entrance. "Hello."_

 _The girl sat up and blinked at him sleepily. Law dragged a chair over. "Abigail I presume?" He reached out a hand. "I'm Law, I'll be looking after you during your stay."_

 _To be perfectly honest, there was no actual need for him to stick around for long periods of time; all she had was a suspected UTI (urinary tract infection) and since she had presumably been dosed with some medicine to keep her fever down and was hooked up to an IV, she was in a stable condition._

 _Speaking of which, the IV monitor was being rather noisy – he switched it off since her IV bag seemed to have emptied now._

 _His mother had asked him to help them out with something and considering that they were trying so hard to find a cure for Lamie's ailment, he would have seemed incredibly selfish if he didn't but it still irked him that his only purpose was to keep some bratty kid entertained for a while._

 _For a few seconds, the girl blinked at him but instead of shaking his hand, she giggled at him. "How old are you?"_

 _Law raised an eyebrow. "I'm 10 but I don't see how that related-"_

 _She laughed again. "God you're so formal. My brother is 14 and he's nowhere near as serious as you are. You act more like a middle aged business man than a 10 year old."_

 _Law ignored what she said and glanced at her file. He frowned. "You live in Bolton?"_

" _Yeah but I was visiting family in Rochdale," she replied._

 _He shrugged. "Alright, I'm just going to do a temperatu-"_

 _Suddenly, the girl rushed out of bed towards the toilet and Law grimaced as he heard her throw up. He sighed and rolled his eyes as he got up to go give her support while she was puking her guts out._

000

Law woke up again in the dark. He was still feeling ridiculously drowsy though and he was just barely registering the fact that someone was carrying him bridal style – normally he'd protest but he wasn't really in a state to care. His consciousness deserted him again.

000

 _Law tried to give her another dose of medicine but the girl only succeeded in throwing it back up again. In the end, he was resigned to just leaving it and seeing how she went on for the rest of the evening._

 _After having a talk with a couple of the nurses who'd been looking after her, he finally understood better more about why he stuck around long term. She seemed to be the sort who disliked being left alone for long periods and that was only heightened in an unfamiliar environment like this. It had gotten to the point where she'd started following nurses around and hindering their work._

 _She was safely reseated in her bed now and watching him intently, waiting for him to do something – it was rather unnerving. Some people would say Law had an easy job; all he had to do was keep her occupied enough to stop her from bothering others. He, on the other hand, didn't agree._

" _You're really quiet."_

" _Congrats for pointing out the obvious," he said sarcastically. Then he shrugged. "I can't think of anything to say."_

 _She looked thoughtful for a brief moment before she said, "Can I ask you something?" She continued when Law nodded, "C-could you call me Baby 5 instead of Abigail?"_

" _Why?"_

" _I'm…kinda more used to that, that's what everyone calls me at home," She looked quite bashful now and not quite as peppy as before. "Abigail is just what I'm called everywhere else. Young master says he's worried I'll get picked on otherwise."_

 _Addressing someone as Young Master seemed a little odd and so did Baby 5's preferred name but all Law said in reply was, "Sure, whatever you feel more comfortable with."_

 _Baby 5 seemed to relax considerably after that but the awkward silence didn't ease so Law just turned the TV on, positioning it properly so she could watch it from a comfortable position. They flicked through a couple of channels; Baby 5 rejected about half of them until they got to a war documentary that was interesting enough for her. She seemed strangely enthralled whenever the topic switched to something weapon based._

 _000_

 _At around 9 in the evening, Law was in the middle of teaching Baby 5 the alphabet in sign language when her auntie Jora finally arrived to visit her and… well, she was quite a fashion statement – Law thought the curtains in the ward were weird (why would you have so many weirdly coloured stripes on there when just plain orange would have been fine?) but apparently he hadn't counted on ever having to see someone with as much red and yellow on them as this woman._

 _She was very flamboyant to say the least. Law had almost jumped out of his seat when she'd flung the curtains open while singing goodness knows what opera song. Then she'd picked up her niece and started nuzzling her like she was a cat. Unfortunately, Law had made poor use of the distraction and he regretted not making his escape when he too was subjected to the same treatment._

" _Is this your new friend?" Jora asked, using an irritating tone much like the ones adults use when talking to babies._

 _Baby 5 nodded but Law could not say the same. If he really had to not use the word patient, the most she was to him was an acquaintance._

 _Her aunt opened the bag she had. "Look, I got you some cranberry juice," she took out a bottle and a Tupperware box, "and I got you some noodles too."_

" _Can my friend have some?"_

' _Can you please stop dragging me into' this_ _Law thought, balking when Jora looked at him expectantly._

 _He looked at the clock. "Uh, sorry. I gotta go, my parents are probably expecting me back for dinner now. Bye~" And then he skedaddled out of there._

 _000_

 _Law thought Jora was going to stay with Baby 5 till she fell asleep and he took that as a good enough excuse to creep back upstairs to his sister. He must have fallen asleep again because his mum was shaking him back awake and whispering to him "your patient wants you"._

 _Obviously he wasn't pleased to hear that he'd have to leave his sister again – she was looking less well than before – but he made his way back downstairs anyway._

 _The other patient in the ward (a boy with a broken leg) was glaring at him when he came in. "Can you shut her up now? She's been crying for ages."_

 _Law made to pull the curtains back and he'd barely slipped through before the girl tried leaping off the bed to hug him. She fell short and Law sighed as he picked her up and put her back on the bed._

" _You're…you're a fucking jerk you know," she said in between sniffles._

" _How so?"_

" _I thought we were friends, I thought you were suppose to stay with me the whole time," she sobbed._

 _Frankly Law didn't understand how he was a friend when he'd literally spent just about 5 hours with her at the most but he refrained from voicing his thoughts, asking instead, "I thought your auntie Jora was meant to be staying with you?"_

" _She did until later and then she said I had to sleep." Baby 5 pouted, "I can't sleep by myself yet."_

" _Why didn't you ask her to stay?"_

" _She's trying to get me to grow up, says I shouldn't have to need someone to sleep with me."_

 _Law decided to interrupt her before he forgot to do his check-ups. "Did someone give you medicine last night?"_

" _Uhuh."_

" _Been sick?"_

" _No actually."_

" _That's good." Law checked her temperature as well which seemed to be going down._

" _I was super starving yesterday till my aunt came."_

" _When was the last time you ate before that?"_

" _The night before at least."_

 _Suddenly it clicked in Law's head. "I see now."_

" _See what?"_

 _He said slowly, "I think you were throwing up yesterday because you were taking pills on an empty stomach."_

" _Ah ok…" Baby 5 said, not sounding like she got that at all._

" _You can go to sleep now."_

" _Where did you go?" she asked suddenly._

" _I have other responsibilities y'know."_

 _She gave him a dubious look. "You do realise its about 2 in the morning."_

" _I need my sleep too." Baby 5 didn't look like she was buying his excuse so he sighed and went on to explain briefly, "I have a little sister, about the same age as you, she, she-" he paused. "She has an unidentified illness and it looks like it's going be terminal if my parents can't find a cure for it."_

 _After hearing that, the girl started bursting into tears, "Waaaaaah I'm so sorry! I've been such a selfish prick!"_

 _Law put a hand on her shoulder. "Chill, I can put up with it."_

" _No no." She wiped her tears away. "Don't sacrifice your time with your sister just because of me."_

 _He breathed in slowly and looked at her. "It's fine. I usually take my job seriously and I apologize for shirking my workload. With all due respect, my sister is important but that doesn't make it excusable for me to spend time with her at the cost of the comfort of my patients. I'll see you through the duration of your stay."_

000

Now Law was on the rooftop of…where? The wind was blowing through his hair but that didn't really give him any clues as to which building he was on top of. Despite the chill of the October wind, he was sweating profusely.

His eyes remained half lidded, barely revealing more than a fraction of what he should have been able to see. 3 pairs of feet were just about the limit of things he could see besides the white roof tiles he was lying on.

"Young… sick of this traitor…why'd you pick him?"

He admitted, sometimes he had poor concentration but still he shouldn't be so out of it that parts of sentences were lost as if the wind was blowing a gale. The identities of the three people shouting at each other was at the periphery of his consciousness but they remained out of reach.

Tired, tired, so very tired. He didn't want to be awake anymore so he shut his eyes, being unable to move anything else, even as he was lifted from the ground and flung away. He was falling for a ridiculous amount of time and it felt like forever until there was the beep of a car horn and the exploding pain as a car collided into his side.

000

 _Over the next couple of days, Law continued to keep Baby 5 company and he was pretty surprised when he was actually able to keep a steady conversation with her. Now that she understood better, she attempted to be less possessive and even urged him to go from time to time to check up on his sister. If he took a long time, she didn't complain anymore._

 _When she was discharged, before she left, she urged him to watch as she signed:_

 _B – A – B – Y – 5_

 _He clapped. "Well done. Try my name now."_

 _T…R – A…F – A –L –G – A –R – L - A_

 _She seemed to be struggling on the last letter so he just showed her; the sign for W was clenching the hands together. Baby 5 nodded and she repeated it again quicker._

 _T – R – A – F – A –L – G – A – R – L –A – W_

 _After she hugged him, she went over to where someone from her family was waiting (Vergo if he heard the name correctly) and Law could see her showing off everything Law taught her. What a shame that the man didn't actually look like he was interested._

 _Law started making his way back to his sentry by his sister's bedside, eager to make up for lost time, when his father burst out from one of the corridors and swung him around in the air._

" _Law! We've finally found a lead! Lamie might have a chance!"_

 _He blinked at him. "What?"_

" _We've still yet to try it out yet but it looks good." He continued to talk about their latest findings but Law was too dazed to pay much attention because wow, so it wasn't a pipe dream then. Deep down, he'd known that the chances of his parents producing anything life-saving was minimal and he'd been expecting them to fail but no, things were actually looking good._

 _His dad put some change in his hands. "Go buy some ice-cream, I'm sure it'd cheer Lamie up."_

 _000_

 _If he'd known what would happen mere minutes after he'd left the hospital, he would have refused to follow his father's orders. He'd only been 10 though and he didn't have foresight so there he'd gone, making his way to the ice cream van in a nearby car park._

 _The fire engines had been the first sign. He'd glanced at them as they passed by but at that moment, he'd been more concerned about how many tubs of ice cream he could buy with the money he had at hand._

 _By the time he was halfway back, he could see the smoke billowing into the air like those industrial chimneys he'd seen one or two times. It was obvious by this point where it was coming from but Law had still been foolishly hoping as he ran back that it wasn't at the hospital or if it was, not a big fire._

 _A raging inferno was erupting from the building, flames licking out of the windows, appearing to be mocking him._

 _You're too late_

 _You're too late_

 _You're a failure._

 _Against his better judgement, he tried approaching the building only to be held back by various people in the crowd._

" _Let me go! My sister is in there!"_

 _Someone delivered a swift chop to the back of the neck and he was knocked out into blissful unawareness, safe for the moment from the guilt that would be haunting him for years to come._


	8. Chapter 7

_Law's personality took a catastrophic turn for the worse._

 _Like any other child, he went though the grief of losing his family and for several weeks after the event, he was locked in a horrific cycle of crying himself to sleep and being forced awake abruptly by the disturbing dreams he had about his family burning to death._

 _He was moved to an orphanage some miles away and changed schools. When people tried to make friends with him however, they no longer found the cordial boy that Law used to be._

 _Law wasn't interested in forming any kind of bond; he just wanted to be left alone and really, his heart wasn't up to socialising anyway. Most people got the idea and just assumed his anti-social attitude was due to grief but others persisted and when they tried too hard, Law had to resort to being outright nasty to them. Even they were driven away once he said something snarky and insulting enough. At every single one of them who tried and ended up running away in tears, he sneered at them, thinking 'Don't even try if you can't handle a few mean words'._

 _Then the bullies tried to move in for the kill, thinking he'd be an easy target if he was alone. They too changed their mind when he whipped out a knife on them (it was a pocketknife his grandfather had given him once – he had died some years ago)._

 _While his teachers praised him for his schoolwork, his peers spread rumours about him that made others avoid him._

 _All his aggression however was a façade to hide what his mentality really felt like. He let people think of him as a snarky, anti-social asshole because he'd rather have that then have people pity him. Being pitied was something he absolutely_ loathed _._

 _In reality though, he walked around feeling very dead inside. If he wasn't being irritated by people around him, he was either drowning in his own melancholy or feeling emotionally numb. Once he got back to the orphanage (he refused to call it a home), he went straight to his bed and only there did he give it up. He had a pile of books by his bedside but they remained untouched. He often ended up staring listlessly at the wall instead._

 _He no longer cried – crying was a weakness and Law decided he had too many of those._

 _Everything was falling and the longer time went on, the faster his tolerance for life fell until by the time he was 11 and people began talking of which high schools they'd be moving to, he felt ready to end it all._

 _Back when things were still alright, any rare thoughts Law had of suicide were tamped down by responsibilities and a slight fear of death but now, neither of those were present. He doubted anyone would care if he forfeited his life._

 _He considered all the options: the cabinet where the sleeping pills were was locked and Law felt that would be too easy a way out; it'd take too much effort to try and slice his wrists with the puny knives they had in the kitchen and it'd also be too messy (he'd considered his personal one but was reluctant to desecrate the keepsake); throwing himself in front of a car would create too much of a scandal and if he wanted to be well known in the community, he didn't want it to be because of suicide; hanging himself would be just too dramatic for someone as insignificant as him._

 _On his walks out – anybody who thought he was getting better by not cooping himself inside were dead wrong, he was just looking for a way out – he finally found the perfect place to do it._

 _In the park, there was a river. At first, it appeared to be too gentle for his purposes but further exploration downstream said otherwise: white-water rapids and a plethora of sharp rocks underneath the surface presented a perfect means to kill himself and clean up the evidence. Law made his way back, making a mental note to himself to find something to weigh himself down with so he wouldn't float to the top later on in the river's course._

 _Finally, on one night, Law took his final walk out of the orphanage doors and towards his final resting place._

 _Part of him wanted to walk faster so it'd be over with quicker but a different part scolded him for being an impatient child. Once he got to the park, he slowed down. He looked around at the trees, passed the grave of Mephisto the monkey and listened to the sounds of night time creatures serenading his walk._

 _He reached the wall and glanced around to check for one final time that nobody was watching before he climbed up to stand on the top. One last breath in and then he jumped, waiting for death to take him._

Except it didn't because somebody grabbed him by the ankle at the last second and he ended up smacking face first into the other side of the wall.

 _He cursed himself for not checking hard enough._

" _What the fuck are you doing?" He yelled at them, the sound of the roaring waves making it hard to be heard._

" _Saving you of course!"_

 _Oh. It was her,_ again. _Why was this Baby 5 girl always getting in his way?_

 _She tried hauling him back up and when he tried kicking himself away, he thought he'd succeeded in escaping but then someone bigger grabbed him and tossed him back to safety before he could resist any further._

 _And then Baby 5 was just slapping him again and again and again. She was yelling something at him about not throwing away his life so carelessly but Law was just blocking out her words because honestly, he didn't care._

 _When she was done with her tirade, he brushed himself off and walked back to the orphanage; he'd have to try again on a different night. Then he scowled at the thought of having to put up with another few days of living._

000

 _His next attempt was thwarted by a man in a suit with a giant pink feather coat around his shoulders. He hadn't actually done anything though; he just simply happened to be in the way._

 _Law had just shrugged and walked past him in search for a quieter spot but it'd soon become apparent that he was being followed. He stopped and turned. "What do you want?"_

 _The man leered at him from behind his curved sunglasses. "I'd like to discuss something with you, Trafalgar Law."_

 _He stiffened. "So you know my name do you?"_

" _Forgive me for not introducing myself," the stranger said, chuckling. "My name is Donquixote Doflamingo."_

 _He recognised that name from her files. "Baby 5's guardian I presume then?"_

" _Correct. Let's talk business." Doflamingo leaned against the stonewall – the man was so tall that the wall only reached his lower back. "My daughter has been talking about you. She's been telling me how intelligent you are,"_

" _Oh spare me the flattery."_

" _and how you tried to kill yourself the other night. It makes me sad thinking that such a talented young man is withering away in this town so I was thinking: why don't you come join my family?"_

" _Why?"_

" _You want to be a doctor like your father don't you?" Suddenly, he dipped down so he was eye level with Law (the man was simply humongous and even when he wasn't towering over Law, he was still terrifying). "How're you going to get that far here? Who's going to pay for you to go to a good high school? Who's going to pay your university fees? Who's going to-"_

" _Okay okay okay, I get it," Law interrupted. "You can't possibly expect me to believe though that you're just going to be some saintly Samaritan who doesn't expect anything back for doing all of this. What am I supposed to do in return?"_

" _Fufufu. We'll see. If you do well, I'll tell you more. If you don't meet my expectations, I'm afraid I'm going to have to put you back where you belong."_

 _Law flinched as Doflamingo shoved a piece of paper into his hands. "Do think about it and call me when you're ready."_

 _000_

 _Law had no intention of contacting such a shady man despite all the incentives he gave but he wasn't left with any choice when Doflamingo came to the orphanage a week later and took him._

 _000_

 _He had yet another change of scenery but this time, he was in the wealthy part of Bolton._

 _As he soon found out, Doflamingo's 'family' was not all restricted to one household. There were about 15 of them. Some lived with Doflamingo in the main house; others had their own places else where though all the members had a meet up every fortnight or so to catch up on news._

 _Doflamingo was the owner of a takeaway. 'Doflamingo's Fried Chicken' (better known as DFC) was, for the moment, based in Bolton though it was beginning to branch out into surrounding towns. Members took turns with shifts; Law was expected to help out on Friday and Saturday evenings. It was a rather successful establishment and as such, Doflamingo had become quite wealthy._

 _Technically, the main house had 2 floors but if you included the landing in the middle of the main stairs and the basement with the extra lounge, there were four floors. It's permanent residents included Doflamingo; his brother Corazon; Law; Baby 5; the older brother she had mentioned once, Buffalo and the Vergo. The garden was large and in the evenings, Baby 5 often dragged Law out to sit under the crab-apple tree._

 _Transferring Law to his new school was awkward; he was a late entry and had already missed important dates like the entrance exams and the induction day. Miraculously though, through 'this' and 'that', Doflamingo smoothed things over and that September, Law walked to his new school with Baby 5 and Buffalo._

 _He'd seen the school before on his way into Bolton but he was nonetheless still amazed by the immense amount of land that it took up. There were several buildings for different age groups but the most impressive and iconic one was the main building. It was made of red sandstone and was about the length of 7 decently sized houses._

 _The main building was split into two – the Boys' division and the Girls' division – but even then he found navigating the place overwhelming. He did eventually get a hang of it – the rooms were conveniently labelled and in a logical order – but not till after a few occasions where he'd gone up the wrong flight of stairs and found himself on the opposite end of the corridor from the room he needed._

 _Once a few people in his class recognised him as 'that new dude who works at Doflamingo's', his reputation began to spread. Fair enough, it was better than in his last years of primary school where people had avoided him due to his violent tendencies but it was an irritating waste of his time to be constantly approached by people trying to sweeten him up just so they could get a discount on their next visit._

 _He was trying to get rid of the more problematic aspects of his personality – lashing out at people wasn't likely to gain him any cookies in Doflamingo's book and would probably result in him getting deported back to the orphanage – but it was getting rather difficult to hold back the urge to shank someone bothering him._

' _You're really cool', 'How are you so clever man?' and other such compliments got old and overused quickly. He ended up just hiding away instead; he'd stop being a loner once the attention had died down and he could actually get around like a normal person._

 _Thankfully, the school grounds were big enough for him to find a private spot somewhere and when he found a small secluded clearing in the small cluster of trees at the edges of the school grounds, he decided to adopt it as his place._

 _000_

" _DUDEEEEEEE THAT KNIFE IS FUCKING SWEET!"_

 _Law jumped as somebody dropped down from the trees above him. Their hat fell off to reveal longish, red hair and a cheeky grin. "Can I have a closer look?"_

 _He shrugged and passed it to him. The redhead traced his fingers over the hilt where 'Kikoku' was carved in and then moved on to the blade. "This is some really top notch stuff, where'd you get it from?"_

" _My grandfather gave it me."_

" _Is he some shady underground knife dealer or something?"_

 _Law looked at him disbelief. "What?"_

 _He laughed. "I'm kidding lol."_

" _Why're you talking to me?" Law asked, wanting to be left alone._

" _I dunno. I just wanted to," the boy shrugged. It seemed that he got tired of hanging upside down from the trees like a monkey so he let himself drop, landing neatly on his feet just as another person came through the bushes._

" _Ah Shachi, did you find someone?" said the newcomer. He was also wearing a hat; this one was a black cap with 'PENGUIN' stitched into the front._

 _The redhead replaced his hat and pointed at Law, "Well, there's this dude with his hella cool knife."_

 _The second boy looked at Law, "Oh you're that dude people keep talking about, the 'cool' one."_

" _I'd rather you didn't call me that especially when I've done nothing to warrant it," Law said irritably._

 _The penguin dude shrugged. "Fair enough." He beckoned his friend, "Come on Shachi, the others have probably found someone else to join the game now."_

" _Don't wanna. I think this guys more interesting," the redhead said, pouting in a childlike sulk. To Law, he introduced himself, "I'm Shachi and ma bro here is Penguin. I heard that you're that flamingo dude's most recent adoption. What are you? Yer last name Donquixote now?"_

 _Law looked at them slightly disgusted. "Trafalgar Law if you will. Law is fine."_

 _Shachi whistled. "Awesome, that sounds hella cool."_

 _Penguin nodded in agreement. "Glad that you kept your last name. I mean, how silly would you sound with_ name _?"_

" _WAH WAH, MY NAME IS DONQUIXOTE LAW AND IF YOU TRY TO GET ME TO GIVE YOU A FREE BAG OF PRAWN CRACKERS, I'M GOING TO CHOP YOU UP INTO LITTLE PIECES!" Shachi imitated, making Penguin giggle._

" _Haha, very funny," Law deadpanned. "Could you leave me alone now?"_

" _Sure~ We were gonna go anyway," Penguin said, dragging his friend back into the bushes._

" _We could be friends Law! Come visit me in 7G when you can," Shachi shouted as they disappeared from view._

 _Law sighed – now he finally had the clearing to himself again. Hopefully nobody would try to bother him because he'd gotten quite comfy on the tire swing he was sat on and he wasn't willing to move from it._

 _000_

 _Something about him must have been attractive because soon after that incident, he found himself stuck with some self-employed bodyguards. Shachi and Penguin hung around him like they were in a little posse and though he didn't think of them as friends, he just played along with their act._

 _It did get a bit irritating though, what with them constantly growling at people whenever they looked his way._

" _Shachi, could you stop trying to pick a fight with literally everyone on the corridor? It's embarrassing."_

" _What're you talking about boss?_

" _Boss?"_

" _Yeah, you're our boss." Shachi turned to growl at someone else then before Law slapped him in the head. "What?"_

" _Shachi, we're in a private school not in a street full of biker gangs, get a grip."_

 _He saluted. "Aye sir!"_

 _Law rolled his eyes. "We're not in the army either."_

 _Buffalo was coming down the corridor in the opposite direction with his own friends and as they passed each other, Buffalo and Law nodded to each other. They passed by for just about a few seconds before Penguin rounded on his feet and approached them._

" _What did you say you bastards?"_

" _Huh?"_

 _Law stopped and turned around to see what was happening._

 _Penguin was still facing up to the group of Year 11 students in defiance. "I heard what you said you jerk! You just called boss a suicidal, self-harming piece of shit didn't you?"_

 _They started laughing and clearly he didn't find it funny. Shachi rushed forward to support him. "You said that you jerks!? Take that back or I'll kill you!"_

 _Buffalo leered at them with his piggish little eyes. "Do you brats even know what you're talking about?"_

" _Of course we do!" the two insisted in unison, "Boss would never do that!"_

 _The elder students just laughed again, muttering things like:_

" _You obviously don't know him very well if he's not told you about that night he tried to drown himself."_

" _He's such a unstable piece of shit, you guys should be careful."_

" _Dasuyan~ he'll probably try to kill himself again if you don't watch him."_

" _Shut up!" Penguin demanded, stepping forward ready to start a fight before Law set a hand on his and Shachi's shoulders._

" _Shachi. Penguin. Leave it."_

" _But boss!"_

" _Leave it," he repeated more firmly before he turned away continuing back down the corridor like he was before. Shachi and Penguin flipped the other group off before they went to follow him, feeling humiliated for the person they'd begun to look up to as the elder students continued to jeer at him._

 _000_

" _Please tell us they were lying boss!"_

 _Law stayed silent, lips firmly pressed together as he frowned. Thinking about those times was making it hard to concentrate on his book._

" _Boss!"_

 _He looked up at their worried expressions and blinked as he considered his words. "I've never self-harmed as far as I'm concerned but I'm afraid I can't say the same for the other thing they mentioned."_

 _Shachi and Penguin seemed stunned at first – those two seemed like twins with the way they often mirrored each other's expressions – but then they started sobbing. "Boss…"_

 _Law sighed. "What now?"_

" _Are you…are you going to try again?"_

" _We'd be sad if you died…"_

 _He rolled his eyes and put the book down so he could give them a reassuring hug. "You'll be glad to know that I'm not planning on dying any time soon."_


	9. Chapter 8

Law started regaining consciousness at some point.

There wasn't anything to tell him how long he'd been lying in the dark for or what had happened beforehand. It was just black but strangely enough, he felt rather at peace there. He could hear voices from time to time but for a long while, they were too quiet for him to decipher or recognise.

For some time, he was just there, thinking about random things without being plagued with his usual worries concerning Doflamingo. Then the voices had begun to distract him as they began to increase in volume.

Chopper's voice was the one he could hear at the moment. It seemed like he was doing homework of some sort, maths maybe if his mumbling about functions was anything to go by. Perhaps that was what helped to start grounding him back into reality.

Instead of just floating, he could tell he was lying on a bed and at some point, he managed to move a finger. Law tried again and succeeded.

Opening his eyes seemed to be a good next step. His right one opened and then shut right away, the light a little blinding at first. He tried again and got better results when he opened them only by a sliver and then gradually widened them so that they had time to adjust.

Obviously, the first thing he saw was the ceiling. Glancing over to the window, the sun had almost completely set. He blinked, and then flicked over to Chopper.

It took Chopper a while to notice him but once he saw a pair of yellow eyes watching him, he got very excited.

"Mr Law?" He grabbed his hand. "Are you awake? Squeeze my hand if you are."

Kinda sounded like a weird question but Law complied anyway and that was all it took to send Chopper dashing down the corridor, trying to find someone.

Law spent the waiting time trying to gain a bit more mobility. He managed to move his arm up slightly when he concentrated hard enough.

He was examining the get well gifts on the table beside him when Chopper came skipping back in with Doctor Kureha in tow.

"Ah so you're awake you lil bastard," she cheekily said, laughing when Law rolled his eyes at that comment.

She removed his breathing mask and helped him into an upright position. He cleared his throat. "Thanks." His voice was a little raspy from lack of use.

"What's your name and how old are you?"

"Trafalgar Law. 24."

Kureha grinned at him. "You've been in a coma for two weeks so you're actually 25 now but that's good enough." She got more serious then as she asked, "What's the last thing you remember?"

 _That_ was a hard question. Sure, there were lots of random moments he could remember but for some of them, he couldn't figure out whether they'd actually happened or not, never mind put them in some sort of chronological order.

In the end, he just went for the one that seemed most realistic. "I can't remember too much but I was in Sharley's at some point. The barista at the counter was acting really weirdly and kept insisting I drink one of his martinis."

Kureha frowned. "So that would explain the urine samples."

"Did-"

"GHB. There was lots of it so I'm guessing this barista may have overdosed you. That and being thrown off a building and hit by a car is probably why you went into a coma."

Law muttered, "Bloody hell."

"You should rest up," she said, sniggering when she patted him on the head and he glared at her. "The police are probably going to want a testimony from you."

She left then so it was just Chopper and Law. "Y'know, they've already arrested a suspect."

"Really?"

"He's called Bellamy or something."

Law glanced at the side table. "Have you seen my phone anywhere?"

Chopper shrugged. "You didn't have anything on you apparently."

 _Great_ , so this Bellamy person was a thief as well. That meant his knife was gone too.

Chopper got an article up on his phone and showed Law the mug shot of the suspect. "Recognise him?"

"Yeah. He was the barista." Law frowned as he saw the text saying he worked at DFC. He was starting to get suspicious that someone else was behind this.

000

Kid was the first person to get around to visiting him but Law could tell instantly that he was pissed off somehow. Chopper seemed to get the idea and he escaped the room so he wouldn't get caught up in whatever was going to happen.

He didn't even bother with a 'hey' and just went straight into, "What the hell did you think you were doing?"

"I was meant to be meeting someone dumbass."

"Sure~" Kid said with a healthy amount of sarcasm. "Are you a fucking idiot?"

Law replied, "I didn't know somebody would pretend to work at Sharley's just so that they could drug me and kill me off. You don't go into bars worrying if the bartender's drugged your drink do you?"

"Yeah but then again, I don't have people after my head do I?"

"Oh gee, I'm so fucking _sorry_ for not knowing if someone wants to kill me or not, I suppose that means I can't be trusted by myself just because of _one mistake_."

Kid burst out, "That mistake almost got you killed!"

"So what?" Law retorted, "I'm still alive aren't I?"

"Yeah but who knows what they did in between you getting drugged and getting thrown off a building? You can't remember anything well can you?"

"Well what do you expect from someone who got an overdose of GHB?" he said in a dry tone. "Apparently my clothes were still relatively in place when I was found so it's perhaps unlikely that I was actually," he shivered, "sexually assaulted."

"Well it doesn't matter if you were or not, you're still alive."

Law snorted. "Do you even realise what you're saying? So you'd rather I'd been psychologically traumatised and alive than dead?"

"What the hell!? I didn't mean it like that!" Kid exclaimed.

"You come into my room and start blaming everything that's happened on _me_ ," Law continued, his voice low and dangerous. "If you're so hell-bent on making me the one in the wrong here then how about you just fuck off and get out!"

He turned away and didn't say anything else.

"Hey…"

"I said, _get out_."

Seeing that he'd done something wrong, Kid did as he was told and walked away. He skipped work just so he could see him but evidently that all went to shit.

000

Someone was hovering around the doorway, apparently unsure of whether they should go in or not. They did eventually decided to when they noticed Law was watching them.

"Baby 5," Law said curtly when the woman came in.

"Law." She took out a pocket knife and phone from her bag – _Law's_ pocket knife and phone now that he could take a closer look to recognise them – and crossed her arms expectantly.

He picked his knife up and turned it around slowly in his hands. "Where did you get these from?"

"Bellamy had them. I guess he removed your important things when you got knocked out."

Law narrowed his eyes. "Was that something Doflamingo told him to do?"

Baby 5 sighed, tousling her curled hair. "Believe me, Young Master didn't order him to do anything. It was all an act of insubordination."

"I'm guessing he wanted to be Heart executive didn't he?" The Heart executive was the position Doflamingo only gave to his most trusted subordinate and technically speaking, they would be his right hand man. It was heavily coveted so no wonder there was competition for it.

"Buffalo was part of it too." Baby 5 added, "Young Master didn't give him too bad a punishment though."

"I heard about Bellamy. Did Doflamingo decide it'd be ok to lose him?"

Baby 5 said nothing. Law guessed that meant Bellamy wasn't all that close to any of them. Well, it wasn't any of his business anymore whether they had internal feuds or not.

He looked pointedly at her. "You look like you're bursting to say something."

She sighed, "I didn't think you'd remember what happened so I came to tell you."

Law was getting tired of people constantly pointing out the gap in his memory but he said nothing, waiting for her to get on with it.

"I got Young Master to let me come with him, said maybe I could help convince you but we came face to face with Buffalo when we came in. He had you slung over his shoulder and… and he turned back and started going back up the stairs and we chased him up there. Then we were on the rooftop and Young Master tried talking him out of it but he refused to hand you over."

 _And thank god he didn't_ Law thought. _I'd probably kill myself if I woke up out of a coma and found out I was back with that awful bastard._

"He kept shouting that he couldn't understand _why_ he continued to wait for you instead of letting Buffalo have the position instead and and-" she paused. "Even when Young Master said he'd change his mind if Buffalo kept you alive, he didn't believe him. Said that he didn't feel safe with you as competition and then he just threw you over the edge like a ragdoll."

"Than splat I got hit by a car."

"Ah- well basically yeah."

Baby 5 stared at him intensely for a moment as she considered her words before she said, "Are you ever going to come back?"

Law stared at her incredulously. "Are. You. Fucking. Kidding. Me."

"I don't understand!" she wailed. "Law, just… you're like the rest of us. He took us all in when we had nobody and let us gain happiness when we had nothing. All we had to do was support him but then when he really needs you, you turn your back on him."

Obviously, Baby 5 didn't know what had happened _that_ night but even then Baby 5 must have been really blind to not see all the manipulative things Doflamingo did before then. "I think you need to get some fucking glasses Baby 5 because you're not seeing what I'm seeing."

She started banging on the bed like she was having a tempter tantrum. "You've had a long enough break already, come back!"

"Break?"

"Yeah, Young Master said you needed a break from the family so that's why you disappeared."

There was a few seconds when Law looked like someone had just slapped him before he started laughing at what a fucking joke this was. "God I didn't think you were so naïve that you'd actually believe when he feeds you bullshit like that."

Then again, this was the girl who was so needy, she'd do anything anyone asked her to even if it was to kill herself.

"T-then _why?_ "

" _Why?_ " He sighed and covered his eyes. "Do I have to go into a fucking rant about-" Law stopped abruptly. "You know what? Fuck it, I'm not wasting my time. Get out."

"B-but…"

" _Get out_."

He shot a heated glare at her, one of the ones that always made Baby 5 cry and this time was no exception. Law felt no remorse seeing her sob her little eyes out as she scrambled out of the room to get away from him.

Law wanted to sleep after all the aggravation he'd had in the past 15-30 minutes – he'd shouted way too much for someone fresh out of a coma – but of course there was someone else lurking around the corner.

"I don't know why you're back again but you might as well come in so you don't look like a stalker."

At least Kid had the mind to look awkward as he walked in, clearly hiding something behind his back. He stopped beside his bed stood stock still, not making eye contact.

"What do you want?" Law demanded. "Say something."

Kid dropped a packet of flower seeds on the bed – purple hyacinths by the looks of it – and stammered, "Sorry."

Law examined the packet bewilderment. "What sort of present is this? Usually people get chocolate or something when they're trying to ask for forgiveness…" His sentence trailed away when he looked up and saw Kid's really awkward expression.

"Uh…Franky's wife, she uh, said purple hyacinths meant forgiveness so I wanted to get a bouquet of them but they don't sell them at the supermarket," Kid admitted, looking incredibly flustered when he whispered, "they only had them in seed form."

He started laughing. "I would seem incredibly mean if I didn't forgive you after that." Law gestured to a chair. "Sit your ass down before you die from embarrassment."

"I'm sorry, I get hot headed sometimes…"

"Eustass, it's _fine_. You just worded things badly and I got a bit too touchy. No big deal."

Kid still looked extremely awkward and it was so out of character it was making _Law_ uncomfortable so he just tossed box of chocolates on his lap and told him to eat. If he was lucky, maybe he could get Kid to just plough through the huge pile of chocolates that had accumulated on his bedside because Law certainly wasn't going to eat them all.


	10. Chapter 9

_Law jolted when he felt a hand on his shoulder._

" _What's this Law?"_

 _He passed the sheet of paper to Doflamingo. "A-level options."_

 _Years had passed since Doflamingo had taken him under his wing and now that Law was getting older – he was 16 at the moment – pressure was being put onto him to think about his future. He'd already decided a long time ago that he'd be a doctor like his dad and he'd pretty much already got his path figured out; it was just a matter of following the necessary steps forward and working hard._

 _Theoretically, that mind-set would work but that wasn't taking into account of the obstacles in the way._

 _His depression had dissipated temporarilyfor the majority of his high school years, only resurfacing for the briefest periods (a day or two at the most), minor enough that people didn't realise anything unusual._

 _Within the past year or so though, he'd been suffering from the worst period he'd had since his family had died and his depressed periods were so frequent even Shachi and Penguin noticed. He was grateful for the support they'd been giving him and it was thanks to them that he was able to scrape by. Even they couldn't get rid of it altogether however and he'd gotten into a habit of hiding the worst of it from his friends so they didn't spend all their time worrying about him._

 _Beginning his GCSEs had been manageable enough at first but as the workload increased, he'd begun to get exhausted with life and with the fatigue came the emotional numbness he'd grown accustomed to during his time in the orphanage. There were too many things to do, too many expectations piled on his shoulders (there were already whispers of him becoming Doflamingo's right hand man and maybe even taking over the company) and as he tried to keep his responsibilities under control, he'd begun neglecting any of the things he liked to do._

 _Time was in short supply and even when he had spare moments, he was often so tired from overworking himself that he fell asleep as soon as his head came anywhere near a pillow._

 _Doflamingo's small chippy had expanded and was now beginning to spread into several other towns. If he opened enough branches, he'd probably become as popular a company as BcDonalds (a fast-food company who had shops open all over the country)._

 _Law did his bit to help out in the shop but even though he was an important staff member at the moment, Law had no intention of continuing to stay there. Doflamingo may have been starting to get filthy rich now but that by no means meant that Law would abandon his dreams for him. In fact, he'd preferably like to get away from him and cut off his ties. He felt no desire to stay with someone as shady and manipulative as him and deep down, he felt that staying too long in his influence could potentially be detrimental to himself._

 _He was only staying because he needed the security of a stable life and Doflamingo's wealth to fund his education. Once he had the necessary qualifications, he intended to leave the family and never come back._

 _Doflamingo must have assumed the same thing because he seemed to be putting more effort into trying to sway Law into staying. Emotional blackmail was common and sometimes, just to be confusing, Doflamingo would throw in a little gift to try and sweeten him up. He'd also constantly scoff at anything Law had even the vaguest interest in something unrelated to work._

 _Interests quite literally became closeted. Posters or merchandise stayed on the inside of closet doors and revision post-it notes and mind maps stayed out to make it seem like he was dedicated to his studies. Medical books were hidden away as well; his dream to become a doctor was one of the things that Doflamingo liked to ridicule and often he'd make some snide remark about how Law would never get there because 'there's lots of competition', 'you're not good enough' – which was funny considering he got taken in for his prowess in the first place – and his favourite, 'surgeons can't be depressed'._

 _He was also kept rather isolated – Law had never been allowed on a sleepover and on the rare occasion Doflamingo let him go out with his friends, he always felt like someone was watching him (probably Vergo knowing him)._

 _The restrictions and the constant stream of degrading comments was stifling and it was no wonder that Law often couldn't help but fall into a self-deprecating mood sometimes._

" _Biology, Chemistry, Maths, good choice," Doflamingo said though whether he really meant it was unclear. "What about your fourth one?"_

 _Law narrowed his eyes. "I'm still thinking."_

" _How about something like Business and Communication Studies?"_

 _Ugh, typical. Of course._

" _I'll think about it."_

 _Yeah he'd think about it but in all respects, he wouldn't choose it. Maybe he'd choose something completely different just to spite him._

 _000_

 _It was late in the night when the door to the extra lounge opened and Corazon slipped in. His feather coat – a black version of Doflamingo's – snagged on the handle and fell off his shoulders. He ignored it and took a seat by his brother on the sofa._

" _Ah, Corazon! Whatever have you come to talk to me about?"_

 _Of course, Doflamingo didn't mean literally talking – his brother was mute after all so he did all his communication via sign language or using notes._

 _Corazon scribbled on a note 'Law looks tired'_

" _Fufufu, I know." Doflamingo swirled the ice cubes in his glass. "He works too hard."_

' _He needs a holiday'_

" _We're going to Spain remember?"_

' _Not that'_

 _Doflamingo gave his brother a quizzical look through his sunglasses, waiting for him to elaborate._

' _He just needs to spend time away from the family'_

" _Are you trying to insinuate something here?" Doflamingo suggested, feeling slightly affronted._

' _Nay'_

 _He laughed, "You truly are a queer person Corazon."_

' _Think about Law's relationship with others Doffy."_

 _Law was on neutral terms with most of the family members. Some of them disliked him more than others (the feeling was often mutual) but even amongst the others that were fine with his attitude, there was nobody who Law was particularly close to. If Corazon's hypothesis was correct, Law would probably appreciate not having to interact with any of them for a while – he wouldn't care about missing an opportunity to go to Spain._

" _Do you realise-"_

 _He stopped when he heard the thump of someone coming down the stairs. It seemed like it was just Buffalo coming down to get a snack but he waited till he'd gone back upstairs before continuing._

" _How are you intending to make this work then, Corazon? Everyone's been looking forward to this holiday and I don't suppose any of them will want to stay behind just to mind Law."_

' _I'll stay behind with him'_

 _Doflamingo had a double take and stared at his brother for a while before he laughed. "You? You must be joking."_

 _Corazon shook his head._

" _Oi oi, are you going to be ok by yourself?" he asked, frowning._

' _We'll manage'_

" _I heard we're going to get a wet summer here."_

' _What matters is that Law gets the rest he needs.' Corazon drew lines under the note to emphasize it._

 _Doflamingo smirked. "Fufu, alright then. Don't burn the house down while we're away."_

 _000_

 _Law sat on the landing and watched the last of the family exit the house. He heard the cars driving away and only when they'd gone did he get up and go back to his room._

 _Corazon was sat on his bed._

" _Is there a reason for all of this, Corazon?" Law asked._

' _No' he signed. 'I just wanted you to get some rest. You don't really like the family much do you?'_

 _He shrugged. "Some of them are bearable."_

 _Law came in further. "Are you going to leave any time soon?"_

' _Who knows?'_

"… _Suit yourself."_

 _He didn't really like doing things while other people were hanging around in his room so he just sat at his desk with his back to him. His mind started wandering and he ended up doing mini anatomical doodles._

 _Law was startled by a tap on his shoulder and he realised that he'd drawn them on the table but Corazon caught his wrist before he could rub them out._

' _Don't rub them out. I think it makes your table look better'_

" _Corazon are you nuts? You know Doflamingo doesn't like this sort of stuff."_

' _Will you listen to me?'_

" _Sure I guess?"_

 _Corazon beckoned him to the bed and they both sat on the edge side by side. 'Can you keep a secret from Doffy and the rest of the family?'_

" _Well get on with it," Law said, getting impatient._

' _You absolutely must not tell them'_

" _Yes I get it ok!"_

" _I'm not mute."_

 _Law had been looking directly at Corazon's face and he'd seen his lips move as he said the words but his brain was having a hard time registering what had happened. He blinked and looked around as if there was someone hidden in the room who was speaking for him._

" _Law, it was me, there's nobody hiding in your room."_

 _He stared at him in disbelief. "Why?" Law continued when Corazon shrugged, "Why have you been lying this whole time?"_

" _I have nothing to say to them." His serious expression lasted for a moment before it turned into a goofy grin. "Now that speaking is easier, I was thinking, why don't we go on a road trip?"_

 _000_

 _Before, Law hadn't really talked to Corazon much but now that it was just the two of them, he got to know him a lot better. Apparently, his muteness wasn't the only thing he had lied about._

 _In fact, as their roadtrip around the U.K went on, he found out that practically everything about his personality aside from his clumsiness was all fake. When they had been at home, Corazon always maintained a serious façade, his presence demanding to be taken seriously even though his clown like make-up and regular slip-ups didn't help earn him that. The other adults and even the other children treated him patronizingly (Baby 5 and Buffalo liked playing pranks on him)_

 _There had been something rather odd in the way how Corazon had been appointed the so called Heart executive and was the closest to Doflamingo – he always said that he'd kill anybody who hurt his brother – and yet, unless there was something he hadn't been told about, he had no important tasks that he was in charge of. Trebol, Diamante, Pica, Vergo, they all possessed important roles, either in the running of DFC or in regards to underground matters that the family was involved in (Law knew they were up to something shady but he'd never been able to get enough information to discern exactly what they did behind people's backs) but Corazon?_

 _Law never saw him do anything; he was comparable to an unemployed bum who stayed home and leached off his parents (or in this case, his brother). Doflamingo and his executives had meetings from time to time, he'd never seen Corazon join in. In all honesty though, he understood because Corazon wasn't exactly fit for work, what with him constantly tripping over himself and accidentally setting things on fire._

 _Now that it was just the two of them, Corazon appeared to have decided to give up trying to be cool and his actual personality was quite endearing. For Law, Corazon the goofy uncle with his ugly sweaters and awful jokes meant way more to him than the Corazon who puffed cigarettes all day and never said a word._

 _He wasn't just comical though, he was every bit just as cunning. There were definitely still some secrets that hadn't been told and even nearing the end of the journey, Law still felt like he knew Corazon's personality very little._

 _Corazon just had so many personalities that he constantly switched around depending on the situation that it was rather difficult to know what was made up and what was really him. He was grumpy at home, he was overly optimistic around Law, he was shockingly manipulative when it came to bartering for things and so on and so forth._

 _One time when they took a boat over to the isle of Man for a day and came back to find that their caravan had disappeared, instead of cursing that someone had taken it and getting out a gun ready to shoot anyone who looked suspicious, he just said to Law, "It'll be completely fine, don't worry!"_

 _Two days later, it turned up again._

" _See, I told ya it'd be fine!" he said, winking._

 _Law just looked at him suspiciously. He wasn't daft enough to not connect it to whoever Corazon had been speaking to on his phone whenever he thought Law wasn't paying attention._

 _000_

 _3 weeks passed by fast and by the time they were looping around to come back to Bolton, Law was beginning to dread seeing the rest of the family again. It'd been fun just having a month to rewind with only one person as company, someone who didn't force high expectations on him_

 _For the first time in goodness knows how long, he finally felt like he was alive and not walking around feeling so dead he probably wouldn't care if a car ran him over. The nightmares had been few and far between and even then he had the relief of someone to talk to and cry around without feeling self-conscious ('see I told ya crying and punching something is a good stress reliever, you should do it more and then maybe those depressing bags of yours will disappear!')_

 _Corazon made him feel safe but when everyone came back home, it made Law wonder if he'd retract back into himself and become the person he'd been before. He felt surprisingly sad when considering the scenario._

" _Is there something wrong with your curry?" Corazon asked, pointing at his takeaway tray that Law noticed he hadn't touched for the past few minutes._

" _Of course not."_

 _The Shitty Restaurant's curry was one of the best things he'd probably had in a while and he had been chowing down on it eagerly at first. He went back to it to finish it before it went cold._

 _Corazon chuckled. "You look really funny when you stuff your face like that, chipmunk cheeks."_

 _Law pushed him over but it just made him laugh even more._

 _They sat in silence for a few more moments before Corazon said, "They'll be putting the Christmas tree up here on the lawn in a few months."_

 _Law snorted. "It's July, there's a long way away before it gets near Christmas time."_

" _What do you think of my brother?"_

 _The random question stunned Law for a few moments. "I don't like him."_

 _He was reluctant to say more but Corazon seemed to agree with him. "I'm not gonna bite if you call him an asshole, I'd say he was too."_

" _And why're you asking me this?"_

" _Do you want to run away from home?"_

 _Now Law was staring at him because_ holy shit was Corazon reading his mind or something?

 _He shrugged. "I suppose but I couldn't anyway. He'd probably track me down and bring me back if I did."_

 _Corazon was making a serious face but he didn't say anything more on the matter. Instead he rummaged around in his pocket and gave Law a piece of paper. "If you ever need help, need someone to cover your tracks, call this number. Tell him Rocinante said to call him in an emergency."_

 _Law looked pensively at the number and then back at him. "Who is this?"_

" _My boss. He's called Sengoku."_

" _Your boss? You have a job?"_

 _He shushed him. "I do but I can't tell ya what it is."_

 _000_

 _As soon as he got back home, he got a call from Shachi and Penguin, asking if he wanted to go on a sleepover. Law didn't really get a say because Corazon sabotaged it and ended up making all the details for them. He couldn't complain too much when he got to sleepover for 2 days – 2 days of binging on movies and food more like it._

 _Law took the bus back home afterwards and let himself back in; Corazon had texted to say he'd gone to the supermarket._

 _Maybe he'd dropped his guard or something because he'd barely walked into his room when someone had tackled him to the ground and divested him of his shirt. He was gagged before he could make protest and he glanced over his shoulder to find that Vergo was his assaliant._

 _Vergo? He was meant to be on holiday with the rest of the family wasn't he?_

 _Evidently not because here he was, restraining him as he blindfolded him as well and dragged him somewhere – upstairs to Doflamingo's room he thinks – and handcuffed to some cabinet handles. Saying he was bewildered would be an understatement; he had absolutely no idea what was going on._

" _Fufu, hello Law."_

 _He stiffened upon hearing Doflamingo's voice, the chains of the handcuffs rattling slightly. So he was back early too._

 _The man stopped deliberately behind him, probably breathing down his neck just to make him even more uneasy. "Did you have a good time with my brother? If I knew about the little runaway plan you two were having, I wouldn't have let you out of my sight."_

 _Runaway plan? What was he talking about?_

 _He flinched when Doflamingo started playing with the waistband of his pants. "I saw your little doodles on the table and though I do admire your…_ loyalty, _" he emphasised the word, " to the medical field, I'm afraid that's not what I want you to do."_

 _His hands suddenly dipped further down and Law practically squirmed away, letting out some high pitched yelp he'd be embarrassed about if he wasn't in such an anxiety inducing situation. The hand retreated of course because Doflamingo was just toying with him and it was rather vexing._

 _Law had never hated a laugh as much as he did then._

" _Now now, there's no need to worry. I'm not about to lower myself down to the level of those vulgar rapists who like to sodomise underaged people." He stepped back and the second set of feet came forward. "I do need to punish you though so I'll let Vergo deal with that."_

 _There was a swish of air before his metal cane came into contact with Law's back, making him gasp in pain. It came again and again and again, coming at such a force that it hurt him but didn't break any bones._

 _It could have been 5 minutes, it could have been 5o minutes, 5 seconds or 5 hours. He didn't know, he was just concentrated on enduring the pain and holding back from making any noises that'd give Doflamingo satisfaction. Even though he bit his lips so hard they started bleeding, he couldn't completely muffle everything._

 _There was only so much torture he could stand and eventually, he just blacked out from the pain, no longer able to hear Doflamingo's laughs and booming voice listing all the things Law had supposedly done wrong._


	11. Chapter 10

Law did eventually get discharged from hospital; he was deemed well enough to continue his rehabilitation at home. He had crutches to aid him for a couple more weeks but that still wasn't a good enough excuse as for why Kid had to carry him princess style as soon as he got out of the car.

"Is this really necessary?"

"Well I don't want to waste time watching you struggle over the cobblestones and up the stairs so yeah."

Law huffed but he did have a point considering how the stone stairs up to the flat were pretty uneven. At least Kid didn't deliberately put his face in the way of all the tree branches encroaching on the stairs.

When they got up there however, Kid refused to put him down till they were outside the sitting room door. It was oddly closed and he knew immediately that something was going on since that door was…well, it was never closed.

He glanced at Kid before he opened the door and a rain of confetti fell down from various party poppers.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

There was a load of people crammed in there from Sanji and Luffy along with their friends to Franky and his fellow garage employees. The room was decorated in party decorations and behind the crowd, Law could just make out a table covered in food. He was bewildered.

"What…?"

Luffy laughed. "It didn't feel right celebrating your birthday without you so we postponed it till you came out of hospital!"

Sanji said, "But we know you don't like having loads of people around you so we organised you a mini one on the side."

And then Kid picked him up again and carted him back down the corridor as everyone waved him away.

" _Eustass_ what the hell is going on?"

To that, he only grinned at him. He crashed Law's bedroom door open and popped him down again before closing the door.

"What the hell?"

"Haha, have fun!"

He felt something wriggling around his feet in the dark; he deduced it was Bepo when he picked him up. Law nuzzled his cat. "I missed you too."

Suddenly the lights flicked on.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR FAVOURITE BREAD-HATING BOSS!"

He…he was surprised once again. He'd never thought that he'd ever see Shachi and Penguin again but here they were now, sat next to a table (also with lots of food he noticed) and grinning at him.

"You are an absolute jerk you know for randomly cutting us off," Shachi said.

"Come sit! We have a lot to catch up on," Penguin added before Law could feel guilty.

"Ayyyy look at you," Shachi said, clapping him on the back. "Y'know, if Penguin put a pirate hat on, we'd actually look like a pirate crew. Cos y'know, I'm wearing an eye-patch and you've got those earrings and those amazing tats."

"How does earrings and tattoos have anything to do with being a pirate?" Law deadpanned, ignoring the fact that most of his tattoos were actually out of sight.

"Yeah Shachi and anyway, playing dress-up doesn't make you a pirate," Penguin sneered.

"Oi you! Stop trying to crush my dreams!" Shachi exclaimed, leaping across the table to tackle Penguin and as the two of them squabbled, Law laughed. They really were just as childish as they used to be.

000

Kid woke up, _somehow_ with Law in bed with him – he wasn't quite sure how that happened, he'd been too drunk to remember anything last night. Surprisingly enough, Kid was the first one to wake up so he just lay there, content enough to watch him sleep for a few moments. His breathing was even, his face relaxed and that just made Kid glad that Law was safe now, that he was sleeping and not in a coma.

Then he grinned – and flipped him on his back. That along with the kiss that Kid planted on his lips startled Law awake and Kid took advantage of his gasp to try and turn it into one of those sensual kisses that romantic novelists seemed to like writing.

It didn't last long before he got pushed away though, to Kid's satisfaction, he wasn't pushed too far away.

"Could you not have waited till I was properly awake first?"

"I wanted to do it when you were least expecting it," Kid said, grinning.

Law rolled his eyes. "If I didn't know any better, I'd have thought you were trying to do some sloppy form of CPR and not a kiss."

"Do you have something against kissing or something?"

"No, I'd just prefer it in private and when I'm actually awake."

Kid smirked at him. "Well, technically we are in private," he gestured – they were in Law's room after all, "and you're awake now. Does that mean…?"

"Yeah yeah, fine have another one. Take 2."

He closed the distance and his eyes made contact with Law's before closing so he could enjoy it more. Eventually he had to stop but it was only for a brief moment for them to catch their breaths before he went in again.

Law was making some rather appreciative murmurs and his hands were reaching under Kid's shirt. Kid wasn't entirely sure what he was doing until his fingers started tickling him behind the ears. He fell off the bed and almost dragged Law down with him.

"Payback~" Law said with a smug look.

Kid pouted at him, "Did you have to ruin that?"

"By the way, I didn't say you could have two kisses Eustass."

" _You said take 2-_ "

"As in attempt number 2, not that you could have 2 kisses."

Kid huffed as he slipped back into bed, "Well be clearer next time." He pecked him on the forehead just to be extra spiteful.

Law smirked. "Tu est réellement stupide tu sais."

[You are really stupid you know]

"Et tu es vraiment méchant mais je ne me plains pas."

[And you are really mean but I don't complain]

"I have something to tell you by the way," Law looked him in the eyes. "I'm moving out."

"Why?"

"The plans changed now, I'm gonna have to end my gap year earlier than I expected and start working."

"Where are you going?"

"Don't worry, I'm not going too far. It's only in Oldham."

Kid frowned. "Do you really need to move out?"

Law shot him a 'do I really need to give you more details' look before he took a breath in. "Remember that weird thing I asked you about in the treehouse ages ago?"

"What, the 'my dad is trying to make me come and take over the family business' thing?"

He nodded. "It's practically that in a nutshell. Except he's not my dad. Technically, he _was_ a foster dad but I wouldn't consider him that now."

"So you ran away then? And I'm guessing he found you?"

"Yeah." Law sighed and shut his eyes. "Hopefully this might get him off my back for a little while at least."

Kid pulled him in closer and rubbed comforting circles into his back. "If you need help…"

"I'll consider it."

Law appeared significantly more fatigued just vaguely mentioning whoever it was so he didn't press any further.

"Do you know when you're leaving?"

"Not yet, I still need to look around for places."

Kid ruffled his hair. "When you go, I think we should have a mini leaving party."

He smiled. "That'd be nice."

000

Law zipped up his duffle bag and dropped it beside the coffee table in the living room. This would be his last day living in this tiny flat – he'd be moving out tonight to his new place and hopefully, he'd be out of Doflamingo's radar for a week or so, ideally more.

Kid had gone out to go buy snacks, insisting that at least they had at least a mini farewell party and what better way was there other than to splurge on food (and booze).

For the moment, he was alone and he felt rather content. He was going out to do what he wanted to do and should his nemesis decide to continue to hound Law, at least it'd be easier keeping the strain off his precious ones.

There was a knock at the door.

It seemed way too early for it to be Kid and if it was Sanji, he would have just unlocked the door and came straight in. He crept down the corridor cautiously and peered out from the peephole.

Doflamingo's ugly face leered at him through it. "It's me."


	12. Chapter 11

_Corazon answered his phone as he made his way back from Aldi. It was a call from his brother but all he said was "Check your snapchat," before he hung up again with an ominous chuckle._

 _Puzzled, he checked his phone and found he had one from Doflamingo. He didn't have any ideas about what it could be but when he saw the picture, he quite literally shook with anger_

 _It was a shot of Law. His arms were handcuffed above his head and missing a shirt so that the bloody bruises on his back were on full display; long, thin, ugly things that Corazon knew were a result of a beating with Vergo's cane. There was another one after that of a closer shot; this time, Doflamingo was standing next to him and pointing a knife at Law's back. 'Don't make me have to mark my property' was the caption._

That _was going way too far._

" _What the hell are you doing?" Corazon demanded when he rung his brother up._

" _Fufu, you know Roci, you should have told me that you wanted to play happy families in the first place."_

 _There was a thwack and a muffled cry in the background_

" _What on earth are you doing?"_

" _You know what I'm doing."_

 _Corazon sighed in exasperation. "Look, can you stop already and leave Law out of this."_

" _Ah but you won't listen to me if I do," he chuckled. "Besides, I've been too…_ lax _on him."_

" _Stop trying to use him for your own ambitions dammit!" Corazon was starting to get tired of his brother's belief that he was superior to other people and that therefore meant he could play with them however he liked._

" _Well that's the least he could do for me. He does owe me after all."_

" _Doffy, he's not like Baby 5. He has his own dreams he wants to achieve that don't involve serving you in any way." He winced when he heard another thwack._

" _I can see that Roci. That's exactly why I'm trying to break him out of it." There were some shuffling noises. "Want to talk to him?"_

 _There was some ragged breathing noises then and a raspy whisper of, "Corazon?"_

" _Law?"_

 _The phone was taken away so it was back to Doflamingo speaking. "Times up, you'll have to come here if you want to talk to him for more than 5 seconds."_

 _Oh god, there went another thwack and another scream, this time it was clearer now that the gag had been removed. The phone line went dead._

 _Corazon gritted his teeth. There was a good chance Doflamingo knew what he'd been doing behind everyone's backs (including Law's) and now he was paying for it. If he went back, he'd likely be giving himself a death sentence. If he didn't, someone else would be suffering for him and that didn't sit right with him._

 _With conviction, he dialled another number. "Sengoku, I have a favour to ask of you."_

000

"Let me in Law."

"No way."

Doflamingo chuckled but Law knew from the sound of it that he was getting angry. "I only have to give Vergo the signal and he'll be on to Sanji downstairs."

Law froze. "How do I know you're not lying?"

"Do you want to speak to Vergo on the phone?"

"…No, no, I'll let you in." His hands were shaking so much that it made it difficult to unlock the door.

Of course that bastard waltzed in like it was his place and if Law hadn't been on such bad terms with him, he would have laughed at how the ceiling was too low for someone Doflamingo's height. It made him have to do some weird waddling walk.

He closed the door behind him and followed, stuffing his hands in his jeans pockets to try and hide his trembling.

Doflamingo asked, "So how are you?"

"Fine."

"You've had plenty of time to think now especially after that...accident." Doflamingo grinned at him. "Well? Are you coming?"

Law closed his eyes and took a deep breath in before he said, "I'm not coming."

He faltered. "Come again?"

"I said I'm not coming," Law repeated. "I don't want to go back."

The tall man started edging closer, driving Law back till he was trapped against a wall. "I've tried to be nice and you still refuse. What do I have to do to convince you?"

"Nothing. You can't do anything to change my mind Doflamingo."

The tension was palpable and the room seemed to heat up by several degrees. His anxiety was acting up and now he felt a desperate need to escape but he was boxed in. His hand tightened around his pocketknife; if need be, he'd fight his way out.

"What happened Law?" He was no longer smiling. "What did you two do on that road trip?"

Law whipped his knife out but the blade only grazed him before Doflamingo grabbed him by the neck and slammed him against the wall. He squeezed the hand holding the knife, tightening his grip around his wrist until Law was forced to drop it.

"Answer me."

"He just acted like a normal person not a control freak like you," Law rasped, finding it difficult to breath.

"Fufu did he charm you with promises of 'freedom'?" He said the word freedom with obvious scorn.

"Hah, as if. He didn't tell me anything."

"And you expect me to believe that?"

"If you don't, I'm inclined to believe that you don't want to admit your brother is better at hiding secrets than you are." He coughed as Doflamingo's grip tightened.

"Don't push your luck brat."

Law flipped him off. "Fuck off."

He started choking then as Doflamingo started strangling him and it didn't help that he kept kneeing him in the stomach as well. Black spots were starting to appear and his hands couldn't do anything to relieve the pressure Doflamingo was exerting on his throat.

After a while, some part of him just resigned to it because, well, it wasn't all bad. If he died, he wouldn't be burdening Sanji and Zeff anymore and even though he'd never been a big supporter of the afterlife, he could pretend that maybe he'd get to see Corazon again.

Of course, he wasn't that fortunate. Doflamingo released his grip and he slid down to the floor, coughing as air finally got back into his lungs.

"What was that smile on your face for? Did you really think I'd be nice enough to send you into the afterlife to see my brother?"

Law blinked his eyes back open slowly. He watched as Doflamingo crouched in front of him and removed his glasses.

"Is this good enough for you?"

Doflamingo was just plain taunting him now, gloating now as he watched Law's eyes widen. He'd never seen him without his ridiculous glasses on before but now he wish he hadn't because the similarities between him and his brother was disturbing. It was probably the eyes that made him most uncomfortable.

"Sadly, my plans succeed far more often than his ever did." He grinned as he put his glasses back on. "Perhaps he would have succeeded in outing me out to the police if he hadn't decided to let you get in the way. He wouldn't have died if it wasn't for you."

"…Do you really think so?" Law said; he could see through Doflamingo's attempts to guilt-trip him.

"Fufu, clever boy. I would have killed him regardless of how involved you got."

Doflamingo got up and waddled around, leaving space for Law to sit himself back into an upright position. There was a pat as Doflamingo almost tripped over something and Law cursed himself internally for not hiding his duffle bag. The huge man started examining it's contents before he slowly started approaching Law again.

"Trying to run away again huh?"

Law smiled nervously at him. "Heh, I should have thought that'd be obvious."

"You're getting cocky. Did you really think you'd be able to escape from me?"

"Well yeah, I don't have any other choice cos I'm not a trigger-happy, radical fuckhead like you."

That earned him a kick in the stomach.

"My patience is wearing thin. I'll give you one more chance to say you'll come with me," Doflamingo knelt down and forced Law to look him in the eyes as he said, "I'll grant you any wish you like."

Law smirked. "If you bring Corazon back to life right here right now and lick the ass of every citizen in the country, I _might_ consider it."

That evidently was the last straw and with that, the beatings began. Doflamingo was kicking him at first but then goodness knows where he got it from, he started beating him with something that looked remarkably like that metal cane from all those years ago. Maybe Vergo came up or something or maybe it was something else but he didn't really know.

"Am I triggering any memories yet?" Doflamingo said, his voice completely serious now.

Law wasn't answering back. He'd shifted into a different position now to try and shield himself and unfortunately, it was his back again that was getting subjected to the abuse. It was making him think about what had happened almost a decade ago and the memories were making him start to panic.

He was sure his trembling was obvious but between trying to endure the pain, restraining himself from making any noises and trying to calm his breathing down, he didn't really have any time to focus on anything but himself.

It so bad that it was still incapacitating him when Doflamingo had stopped. Law vaguely registered him saying "Show me the same cheek next time and I might even have to break an arm," before he left, thankfully closing the front door behind him.

His heart felt like it was trying to beat its way out of his chest and he felt lightheaded, like he wasn't getting enough air into his lungs. He couldn't really move so he had to focus on his breathing.

Closing his eyes, he counted.

IN 1…2…3…4…5

OUT 1…2…3…4…5

After what seemed like ages, he finally calmed down and he just flopped on the floor feeling exhausted. He'd had plenty of practice with dealing with panic attacks but still, this one felt like it'd lasted for ages. He pushed the living room door closed and sent a quick text to Kid before he let himself drop off into sleep.

000

 _Law woke up, feeling someone jostling him. He opened his eyes, blinking drearily at the arms carrying him before looking up at Corazon._

 _There were some shouts behind them; Corazon increased his pace. He noticed Law was awake but didn't say anything, too concentrated on making sure he didn't make a blunder and fall._

 _His back felt awful. Corazon presumably must have been the one who out a jumper over him to keep him warm so the bruises were hidden at least but the throbbing pain was immense. He was glad he wasn't running because they'd probably hurt a thousand times more if he had to._

 _He couldn't remember anything after blacking out for the second time but as long as he wasn't tied up again, he was fine._

 _They got to a car park and hid behind a bush, looking up apprehensively as people passed their hiding place._

" _Corazon, what…?"_

" _Ssssh."_

 _Corazon started rummaging through the leaf litter to produce a plastic bag. He untied it and got out a different jumper._

" _Come on Law, get that one off." He tugged at the hem, helping Law take it off when he stopped suddenly from pain. He slipped the other jumper on and also passed him a helmet – it looked like Elmo from Sesame Street. "Put it on."_

" _Corazon, what's going on?"_

" _Your lift is coming soon," Corazon said quietly, looking around furtively. "They'll drop you off in Rochdale and you'll go stay with Zeff at 'The Shitty Restaurant'."_

" _I don't-"_

" _It's all arranged. You're going to the sixth form college there, the one next to ASDA. I talked with my boss and he says he'll ensure you're not bothered."_

 _Law looked at him. "What about you?"_

"… _I won't be getting out of this alive."_

 _That made Law's eyes widen. "No…why? Why aren't you coming?_

" _I'm sorry I can't get you any further than this," Corazon said, not answering his question. He silently took his hand and dragged him out when he spotted Shachi on his motorbike. He high fived him. "Thanks Shachi."_

" _No problem! I'd do anything for my boss."_

 _Law glowered at Corazon. "Exactly how many people have you got involved just for me?"_

 _Corazon laughed. "A lot." He bundled Law onto the motorbike, in between Shachi and the handlebars and slapped the seat to signal Shachi to move._

" _Wait!" Law tried grabbing onto Corazon in desperation and he ended up pulling his feather coat away to reveal bullet wounds. "What are these!"_

" _Bye~"_

" _Corazon!"_

 _And then Shachi drove around the corner and he couldn't see him anymore._

000

Kid received Law's text as he was coming out of the supermarket with 3, no _5_ different boxes of chocolate. He did originally intend to buy booze but then he saw the chocolate on offer and thought 'well fuck it' and went for that instead.

" _Napping. The door is unlocked_ ," Kid read out. He slipped his phone back into his pocket and shrugged. "Well fine, he can do whatever the fuckity fuck he likes."

When he got to the flat, he gave the door an experimental push to see if it was open and thankfully it was. He closed it behind him and went to peek in his bedroom, assuming he'd be in there if he was sleeping.

He wasn't however and after venturing further, he found Law lying on the floor in the living room instead.

"Honestly, he calls me a child but then he just randomly goes and falls asleep in front of the door," Kid muttered as he gently picked Law up and laid him on the sofa. He covered him using a throw blanket that had been draped over the back.

When Kid slipped in with him to doze, Law had a frown on his face and his breathing was slightly harsh but he seemed calm enough.

He was disturbed later by someone jostling him. "God dammit Trafalgar, can you not keep still?" he mumbled, wrapping his arms around him to keep him still.

That turned out to be a _big_ mistake though and Kid practically tumbled out of bed when he started screaming.

"GET OFF!"

"Trafalgar what the fucking- _shit~_ "

Law appeared to be having a rather horrid nightmare, judging from the way he was thrashing around violently. His hands kept switching from being fisted tightly in the sofa fabric to flailing about randomly at some imaginary enemy. His face was contorted into some pained expression that was making Kid concerned about what sort of stuff he was dreaming about

"No…no stop, please," he mumbled along with a bunch of other random things and he'd flinch every so often, making pitiful whimpers that yanked at Kid's heartstrings.

Kid decided he had enough. Avoiding his fists, he got closer to Law and started lightly slapping him in the face. "Trafalgar, Trafalgar oi. Trafalgar, wake up."

An elbow caught him in the face so he grabbed his wrists and pinned them above his head.

"LET ME GO!"

"TRAFALGAR!"

Shouting didn't seem to be working – everything Kid was trying seemed to be making it worse actually – so he decided he had to get tough with him instead. He muttered a quick apology before he lifted Law up again and threw him on the floor (he tried not to be too hard).

His eyes flew open at least but when Kid scrambled over so he was over him, they were unfocused and flicking all around the room furtively. When they made eye contact, the pupils were dilated and clearly he wasn't seeing Kid because he was making feeble, uncoordinated attempts to push him away.

"Trafalgar. Look at me," Kid said, trying to keep his voice as calm as possible while his hands stayed pressed against Law's cheeks so he'd stay in his line of vision.

Shaky pants punctuated the silent room for a few seconds before Law's eyes blinked with a glimmer of recognition and his hands fell away to lie flat against the floor. " _Eustass?_ "

"That's me." He leaned down to press a few light kisses on his forehead and give his hair reassuring strokes. "It's ok, it's ok, you're safe."

Law just sighed, sounding very frustrated with himself.

000

Now they were back on the sofa, just sitting and trying to have chill time.

"Are you ok?" Kid asked.

"Probably," Law mumbled, head leaning against Kid's shoulder with his legs sprawled over half the sofa.

"Do…do you want to talk about it?" he said, shrugging when Law shook his head. "You must have really scary dreams."

"Yeah," he sighed softly. "My own head likes to fuck with me sometimes."

"Is it something to do with those bruises on your back?"

Law glowered at him. "So you noticed." He rolled his shoulders. "Sort of. And before you say it, _no_ you're not allowed to go after who did this. It's more trouble than it's worth."

"Are you fucking serious!? You must be-" Kid stopped when Law gave him a pointed look.

The doorbell rang then and Law grunted at him to answer it. He waved a £10 note in his face. "If it's Chopper, give this to him. Make sure he actually takes it as well."

A couple of minutes later, Kid was back with a bottle of ointment.

"His foster dad is a chemist," Law said randomly like he thought Kid wanted an explanation. He took the bottle and examined the instructions. He passed it back to him. "Mind helping?"

He took off his shirt and lay on his stomach. Kid poured a bit of ointment over his fingers and rubbed on one of the bruises. "Like this?"

"FUCK."

Kid stopped. "Are you ok?"

"Mm, I'm fine, just keep going."

000

 _Doflamingo found his brother in the car park. Chuckling as he advanced, he said, "Fufu, who knew my cute little brother would actually be a police officer in disguise."_

 _Corazon smirked despite how in pain he was from the bullets from before. "You're getting too smug for your own boots Doffy."_

" _Where's Law?"_

" _Away from you."_

" _Haha, very funny."_

 _Both of them whipped out a gun at the same time, aiming at each other._

" _I know you're not going to use that gun Corazon,"_

" _And who says I won't?"_

 _Doflamingo was right. He was the only one who pulled the trigger and Corazon gained a further 5 more bullets in his side. He fell to the ground, panting. His brother came over with his phone with a devious smile on his face._

" _I'm going to send a snapchat of you to Law. Make it a good one."_

 _Corazon stayed alive just long enough to grin and do a peace sign before he died, still smiling._

 _It began to snow._


	13. Chapter 12

With that, Law left the _Shitty Restaurant_ behind and started a new life. He didn't call nor did he come visit though he did send an occasional email just so that Sanji knew he was alive. Sanji understood that he was trying to distance himself away from them but sometimes he still wondered about what Law was doing.

Customers who saw him told Sanji about him and as happy as he was for Law, he wished he could actually go see him in person.

Suddenly the emails stopped.

He had absolutely no contact with him between April and October and when he was at his wits end, he called Law. Thankfully he answered and he said everything was ok before hanging up. No more emails came though and there were no more calls either till May in the next year.

"Hey you shitty baguette, where've you been?"

"At home unfortunately," Law said, adding a clipped laugh onto the end of that.

"Are you ill or something? Want me to bring some soup over?"

Law sighed. "No and no, soup can't help me." He paused for a moment. "This is going to sound really pathetic of me but can I come back?"

"What?"

"I seem to have contracted some sort of sensitivity to light." His voice was wavering and Sanji suddenly regretted not making an effort to actually see Law to check he was alright. He should have been used to Law lying about his wellbeing but he'd gotten careless. "I can't go to work because of the fluorescent lights and now natural light affects me too so I can't go out to get groceries and its…just… _ugh_."

"Alright, I'll come pick you up. Stay safe."

000

He started feeling the burning sensations first in April.

At first, he only felt them when he was in front of his laptop. Law had initially assumed that it was something to do with the laptop light or the temperature of the room. An electric fan aimed right at his face did the trick for a while, bringing him some temporary relief.

Then it stopped working as well as it did before and he also began feeling it when he was working around in the hospital. It was extremely uncomfortable and also painful a lot of the time. Fanning himself and drinking water was the only thing he could do to reduce the discomfort by even a fraction. The pain was almost constant, what with there being fluorescent lights everywhere in the hospital.

By now, he had the faint suspicion of the condition he had.

Once upon a time, he'd read a book by Victoria Cindry, a woman who had Photosensitive Seborrhoeic Dermatitis. He had found it very interesting and while the information was (sort of) benefitting him now, he began to dread what would come. If he went down a similar path, eventually he'd start becoming sensitive to even natural light and then he'd well and truly be stuck.

When he finally found it unbearable, he had to approach Kureha and apologize that he had to take time off work. He also voiced his suspicions to her and she referred him to a specialist. He left the hospital knowing he'd likely not be coming back.

There was a couple of months wait before he could go so then he had a few months where he was redundant. At this point, he was living purely off his savings and now that he had to avoid fluorescent lights, he was forced to make trips to the supermarket fast as possible to reduce the pain.

Finally, he took a train down to London to see the dermatologist and he received his fair share of strange looks from fellow passengers. It was October by then so there was nothing strange in wearing a big coat; it was likely the makeshift mask he'd made out of an opaque scarf and some elastic.

Nothing conclusive happened – all Dr. Muret did was pass him onto a specialist photobiology unit. Again, nothing happened and he had to wait a few weeks to get to them. He was then told that he'd be called back for an appointment in spring.

During this time, Sanji called him to check up on him. He lied of course and said he was still working at the hospital and that everything was ok. After he hung up, he laughed until he was lightheaded.

In April, Dr. Hogback finally gave him a definite diagnosis.

"I am going to prescribe some…" he listed a few things. "By the way, would you like to buy my book while you're at it?"

Law politely declined; he likely would have refused it regardless of whether he had a light sensitivity condition or not.

It worked…for a while.

It was bearable enough and Law contemplated going back to work. He was cautious but he waited a small while just to see how it would go. He was forced to drop any thoughts about that when the burning spread to pretty much his whole body.

Even natural light started hurting him, causing him excruciating pain similar to that of having a blowtorch being focused on whatever part of him the light is shining on.

In May, he was forced to call quits and call Sanji.

Soon after, he received a call from Doflamingo. He doesn't even answer Doflamingo's call but just seeing his name on the screen sets him off and combines with all his other stresses into another panic attack.

He can't escape his pitch black apartment so he's running low on groceries and he's painfully aware of how skinny he's getting.

His savings are finally running low and he's on his last £1000 or so; who knows how many more bills he could pay till he gets evicted.

He feels awfully marooned in there; there's nobody there and he can't get out to see anyone.

Law is alone with only his fears to keep him company.

000

Before Sanji comes to get Law, he prepares his room. He did a bit of reading beforehand and all he does is follow the same steps.

He gets Franky to help him fit blackout fabric on the curtains and fit in some roller blinds. Light escapes around the edges so he moves on to tape aluminium foil on the windows. Layers upon layers are slathered on. Each time Sanji steps back, he finds he's not being happy that they blocked out enough light and adds another layer.

Eventually, he succeeds and he goes to pick Law up. It's night time and he bundles Law into the back where he'll be exposed less to light – he immediately covers himself in the blanket Sanji put in there.

It's very dark but Sanji can very barely make out Law's defeated expression. If he's not mistaken, his bags look darker and he's dishevelled, like he couldn't be bothered looking after himself anymore.

He retreats to his room as soon as he gets home and Sanji can just barely hear some sobs. Whether it is from pain or despair, he doesn't know.

000

"HELLLLLOOOOOOO IT'S THE SHITTY RESTAURANT!" Luffy shouted down the phone like usual.

"Fufufu, you're Monkey D. Luffy aren't you?"

"Who're you?"

"Donquixote Doflamingo, recognise the name?"

Immediately, Luffy drooled, just thinking about the chicken that he liked from DFC. Wasn't as good as Sanji's of course and he got over it because he knew the name for another reason. "You're that guy who keeps stalking Tra-guy aren't you?"

"Stalking? What a rude child, spreading these sorts of rumours about me…" Doflamingo lamented though Luffy could tell he didn't really mean it. "I was just wondering if you knew where he was? He wasn't in his flat when I checked."

"See you are a stalker! I'm hanging up now."

"I'll give you a discount off your next trip to DFC if you tell me where he is."

"Look Mingo, there's no point in you continuing to pursue him." It pained Luffy to say the next bit but it was the only thing he could say that might drive Doflamingo away. "He's no use to you anymore: he can't go outside; he can't go near fluorescent lights and he has to coop himself up in a dark room almost all the time."

Doflamingo paused. "Wouldn't that be rather inconvenient for Sanji? If he comes back home, I can give him more space-"

"Shut up can't you just let him go you bastard! Keep bothering him and I'll beat you up."

Without another word, Luffy slammed the phone back down into its holder. He didn't care that Doflamingo was the head of a huge fast-food company, he'd beat anyone up who upset his friends.

"Luffy?"

 _S h i t._

He turned around and saw Kid. "What was that about?"

"N-nothing…" Even if Luffy wasn't such a bad liar, Kid knew something was up judging by the angry conversation he was having.

"Who was that about?"

"Uh…nobody, it certainly wasn't anything to do with Tra-guy…"

Kid narrowed his eyes. "Is he home or something?"

Luffy paused before deciding Kid was trustworthy enough and nodded.

000

As soon as Luffy nodded, Kid rushed out of the door immediately and hurried up the stairs. He hadn't seen Law in ages and was eager to see him.

He rapped his fist on the door. "Trafalgar~ are you home?"

Kid repeated that until he heard the door being unlocked, the process taking a little longer than usual for some reason. As soon as the door opened, he was dragged through and the door barely shut before Law drags Kid to his room. That door too was slammed shut and it was then when Kid realised the whole room was completely pitch black.

He was slammed into the wall, a rather desperate kiss planted on his lips soon after.

And then Law started crying.

His hands were clenched tightly at Kid's shirt and when Kid wrapped his arms around him, he was noticeably shaking.

"What's wrong?"

"It hurts…"

"What does?"

Kid slid them both down to the ground so that they were sat down and waited till he was ready to talk.

000

"I have Photosensitive Seborrhoeic Dermatitis."

"Photo whatty what?"

"Photosensitive Seborrhoeic Dermatitis," Law repeats. "It's a rare type of photosensitivity."

"I guess you're one of the unlucky few then."

He sighed as Kid rubbed his back in a comforting gesture. "So basically you can't go near light at all? Like ever?"

Law shrugged. "I read a book once. From the information, I can assume there may be brief periods of time where I can tolerate some light but those will probably be rather infrequent."

"I have a feeling you're about to say a but."

"I'm practically useless like this," Law said. "I mean I can cook and wash and do normal things like that but I can't get a job so I can't get money to pay for groceries and bills." He sighed again; Kid noticed he seemed to do a lot of that.

Kid wasn't quite sure what to say – he found himself lacking in the comforting department and he wasn't really sure what to say that wouldn't sound bland.

"You…you've had this since April last year right?"

Law nodded.

"That's pretty impressive. Most people would struggle to cope with that for that long."

"Uhuh."

"Trafalgar…"

"Sorry," he sighed for probably the tenth time since Kid came into the room. "I feel like a sitting duck here. I can't get out and there are very few places I could escape to if _he_ came. I feel trapped. Like even back then when I was living with _him,_ I could at least move around normally."

000

"Kid." He turns to see his friend Killer, leaning against the doorframe. "I heard about Law."

He stays silent waiting for Killer to continue.

"I was talking with his friend Penguin the other day and we found a flat. Outskirts of Manchester. Looks good for you two. You can redecorate it as you please."

"What are you implying…" Kid had an idea of what Killer was suggesting and though he liked it very much, he still felt there was something wrong with it.

"I'm not an idiot, I know you want to do something for him. We can all see you're in love with him."

"And? Why does that mean I have to move out of here?" Kid asked. "Everything's fine. What's telling you that Trafalgar wants to-"

Killer adds, "The flat is protected by Whitebeard. Not even Doflamingo would want to mess with tenants in Whitebeard's flats."

"What about the garage? I can't leave you all."

"Franky's struck an agreement with his brother in Manchester. You'll be transferring over there."

"And you?"

"Don't worry about me Kid. Just keep calling me and we'll be fine."

Kid had run out of arguments and he just resigned to it. He waltzed over and gave his best friend a hug. "You really have everything sorted out don't you?"


	14. Epilogue

I wake up just as someone drags me out of bed. I hit the floor and wince but he still continues to drag me out.

"Ow what the fuck was that for Trafalgar?" I protest.

He's ignores me so I just follow him till we're stood outside in the middle of Sanji's herb garden and _finally_ I see why he's adamant about getting me out. The suns not up yet and the street lights are going out but it's still not completely dark.

I can finally see his face and though it's hard due to the dark, I can tell he's smiling.

Thank god he's smiling.

000

I get to work as soon as I can. I discuss with Franky on what would be safest way to get Trafalgar to our new flat. We order some industrial felt in, about half a centimetre thick. Using that and two wires, we create a removable tent in the back of my car.

When Trafalgar sees it, he gives it a quizzical look but gets in, knowing that when he comes out, he'll be at our new place. We don't talk much; the felt muffles our voices and makes it hard to distinguish what we're saying.

Eventually we arrive. He keeps his face shielded until we get to the flat where it's pitch black. There's a sound as he feels the wall and then slowly I follow him around the apartment as he gets used to where everything is. We arrive at his bedroom.

"I made your bed king sized by the way."

Surprisingly instead of making a snarky remark about how he doesn't need that much room, he leans up and kisses me (usually it's me doing that).

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

And then we close the door.

~The end~

 **Authors note:**

 **There's quite a few people that I have to thank:**

 **-First of all, my partner for this event, Trashyscarface. You were an awesome partner back when we were doing OP Reverse Bang and that remains the same for this project :D My fic is blessed to have such wonderful fanart from you!**

 **-Lastofromance helped beta the first three chapters of this fic and though she couldn't continue due to personal problems, I'd still like to thank you because the first three chapters were honestly the hardest ones to write.**

 **-Thanks to Smileorillfeedyoubread for checking the grammar on my French**

 **-To all my supportive friends, thank you! My IRL friends have all been incredibly supportive and my lovely anons on tumblr kept me motivated with messages. It is very encouraging to have interest even from people not into One piece.**

 **As for disclaimers, I've never been in an abusive relationship, been in a coma, been drugged by someone and thrown off a building, I certainly don't have Photosensitive Seborrhoeic Dermatitis and I've never tried to comiit suicide but there are a lot of things in this fic that are inspired by things I've done in real life so if you want to hazard some guesses, go ahead! I'd prefer if you sent them to my tumblr at rainripplesdailythoughts but I am fine with answering them through here too.**

 **The book by Victoria Cindry I mention in chapter 12 is actually a reference to 'Girl in the dark' by Anna Lyndsey. I used it as a valuable reference and I highly encourage you guys to go read it!**

' **The Shitty Restaurant' and the setting is based off where my mum's chippy is in real life! If you ever come near Milnrow, feel free to visit the Chop Suey Bar on Kiln Lane. If you're lucky, you might be able to catch me doing my Friday and Saturday evening shift**

 **For future plans, I have things planned. You can check my account for 'Brotherhood', the fic I've already started which explores Law and Sanji's relationship from when Law first visits the chippy till present day. I'm also thinking of starting a side fic for all my outtakes and next year for OP Big Bang, I am considering doing a side fic focusing on Usopp and Nami. I came up with ideas for a Burglar AU a few months ago and I've decided to combine it with the Chippy AU so it's all in the same universe.**

 **With that rant done, thank you for reading my first completed multi chapter fic! Reviews will be very helpful; I'm aware there will be flaws with this whether it's with pacing or inconsistencies and feedback will be useful.**


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